We were not ready for full-scale invasion. That is why Russian Federation managed to occupy so much, - Commander of National Guard Pivnenko. VIDEO
Commander of the National Guard Oleksandr Pivnenko believes that Russia managed to occupy a significant part of the territory at the beginning of the full-scale invasion because Ukraine was not prepared for it.
He stated this in an interview with journalist Anna Maksymchuk, according to Censor.NET.
The start of Russia's full-scale invasion
The interviewer noted that since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russian troops have occupied 5,000 square kilometres of territory.
"This is a good indicator (for the enemy. - Ed.), a large territory. This is a bad indicator for us, for our situation. We were not ready. That is why we lost a lot in the beginning. If we had known, acted confidently, had everyone in position, and blown up all the bridges in time, this would not have happened," Pivnenko explained.
The commander of the National Guard cited the example of Israel.
"It's a small country. But when they have intelligence, they act quickly. They send in their planes and destroy. Because they know that tomorrow there will be fighting there. They destroy in advance.
Just like we do. If we know that the enemy is advancing on us, we understand the data, we know where the concentration area is from which they will operate. We simply send all our forces there and destroy them. If we had acted that way, we would have seen and known that the enemy was at the borders. We should have used all means to deal with them. And then it would have been different," he stressed.
How long can Ukraine resist the enemy?
"If we increase the drone component, it is currently at an insufficient level. If we increase it to a sufficient level and it does not continue to move deeper into our country, then everything will be fine.
If active defence works and the enemy does not achieve any victories, they will think twice about whether they need such a war. It is important to stop and stand firm. There is no need to attack, no need to invent anything – just ensure the stability of the defence. Then the enemy will have nothing to explain to its people," Pivnenko explained.
