Ukrainian Airborne Forces Commander Outlines Path to Victory, Emphasizes Preservation of People
Kyiv, Ukraine – Commander of Ukraine’s Airborne Assault Troops, Brigadier General Oleg Apostol, stated Ukraine cannot sustain casualties on the scale of Russia and defines victory as preserving its population and statehood through a diplomatic resolution on Ukrainian terms. Apostol shared his perspective in an interview with Ukrinform.
“Regarding the victory – I am a realist. we cannot afford to lose millions of people like Russia. For us, victory is to preserve the people, the state and enter the diplomatic decision on our conditions. It will be a truce, but on Ukrainian conditions, with security guarantees, what the President of ukraine is now achieving,” Apostol said.
He acknowledged a remaining “Soviet heritage” within the Ukrainian army, stating that overcoming this will require multiple generations, but emphasized the war is accelerating the shift away from Russian military doctrine. “The main thing is not to have a short memory so as not to go back,” he added.Apostol highlighted that the experience gained as 2014 has substantially strengthened ukraine’s military capabilities, allowing it to meet the 2022 Russian invasion “prepared by an order of magnitude higher.” He stressed the importance of continued modernization, focusing on technology, drones, engineering, and critical thinking.
“The initiative of the commanders, non-standard decisions – all this gave us what we now have. In the future, the army should be even more technological, modern… And we must definitely draw conclusions from those problematic issues that we did not take into account,” Apostol concluded.
The comments come as Advisor to the Head of the Presidential Office, Mykhailo Podolyak, indicated a potential scenario for ending the war involving a frozen conflict along the current front lines, though final decisions rest with President Zelenskyy.
Meanwhile, Russian artillery strikes in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, resulted in the deaths of nine civilians and injuries to seven others, according to reports.