On the battlefield in Ukraine, Russia still holds the initiative, said Major Jānis Slaidiņš, an officer of the Latvian National Guard Headquarters, in an interview with Latvian Radio.
He acknowledged that although Russia is capable of recruiting a significant number of fighters by offering substantial financial incentives, it lacks the strength to launch a full-scale offensive along the entire 1,200-kilometer front. Instead, the Russians are strategically creating “pressure points” in specific areas to continue slowly advancing “meter by meter.”
As for the weaknesses of the Russian army, Slaidiņš mentioned a shortage of manpower. Although Russia is trying to address this by offering large sums of money, such an approach does not produce well-trained or high-quality soldiers.
“There’s no shortage of people willing to fight on Russia’s side from other countries either,” Slaidiņš added, citing the recent capture of Chinese nationals in Ukraine who had been fighting alongside Russian forces.
The expert believes that this was likely a private initiative by the Chinese individuals themselves, not an official or centralized order from China. If China were to send anyone to fight against Ukraine, it would more likely be high-ranking officers, advisors, or observers—not ordinary soldiers, he explained.
Commenting on Ukraine’s operations inside Russian territory, Slaidiņš noted that strikes on energy infrastructure have decreased, in accordance with an agreement reached with the United States. However, Ukraine continues to carry out drone strikes on military targets inside Russia. “The use of drones, as seen over the past few weeks, has increased, but we are not seeing missile strikes using Western weapons on Russian territory, which suggests that Ukraine is still restricted in that regard.”
When asked what Ukraine currently lacks most in practical terms, Slaidiņš responded that first and foremost, it is drones of various types. Although Ukraine has recently made huge strides in developing and producing unmanned aerial vehicles, it is unable to meet the full demand of the war. Therefore, donated drones are of great value on the front lines.
At the state level, allies should focus more on providing air defense systems, Slaidiņš said. These could help intercept many of the recent Russian strikes on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure, which are aimed at creating internal chaos and sparking civilian unrest against the Ukrainian government and its perceived inability to protect the population.
A war “meter by meter”: Russia changes tactics, but Ukraine lacks drones
