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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
GeneralStaff.ua Preserving the lives of Ukrainian fighters is a key task of the military command, and therefore rotations of troops on the line of combat contact do not always happen quickly. National Guard of Ukraine commander Oleksandr Pivnenko said this in an interview with the publication "Livyi Bereh."
He explained that sometimes rotations are delayed due to security factors, and soldiers spend long periods on the line of combat contact.
"They don't replace them because if we withdraw them — we will lose them," Pivnenko emphasized.
As the National Guard commander explained, Russian occupiers tightly control all roads with drones. So to conduct a rotation you need to catch a safe moment.
"We wait for either bad weather [rain, fog], or some opportunities [for withdrawal — UNIAN]," Pivnenko added.
At the same time, he agrees that the same soldiers cannot stay on a position for a long time.
"But sometimes there is no other way out. Do you understand? There is no way out, because there are such settlements and such territories where it is not so easy to do this — to simply carry out a rotation. Somewhere we plan. In fact, we don't have that many such positions, but these are such difficult directions where the enemy is very concentrated. Three armies are advancing there. And it's just swarming with 'Rubikon' with their drones," Pivnenko emphasized.
Thus, Ukrainian defenders are not pulled off positions just like that, so as not to lose them.
The commander added that the drone war changed everything, including movement at the front.
Difficulties with rotations
As UNIAN reported, earlier former Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi also complained about difficulties in conducting rotations. He explained that the rotation process — replacing servicemembers on positions — has become a military operation like an offensive, so it must be prepared for carefully.
In mid-July, Syrskyi reported that across the entire front line there are about 20 Ukrainian servicemembers who remain on position for more than 200 consecutive days. According to Syrskyi, rotations are carried out more or less on time in 72% of cases.
Document: PDF proof of the republished news item ""Нема виходу": командувач Нацгвардії пояснив, чому бійці місяцями сидять без ротацій" after a recorded deletion or page unavailability. Source: UNIAN.
