The acting commander of the Azov Regiment, Bohdan Krotevichi, says that Ukrainian forces may try to capture small Russian towns during an upcoming counteroffensive, according to The Washington Post in a long article about the Ukrainian military unit.

In this regard, he cited the example of the first war in Chechnya, when this tactic was successfully used by Chechen fighters. The conflict, which lasted between 1994 and 1996, ended in a humiliating truce for Russia, which had an overwhelming advantage over Chechen forces.

Historians have estimated that during this conflict, Russia lost 3 times more soldiers than the enemy (14-15 thousand against 5 thousand), and Moscow agreed to stop hostilities due to the huge opposition of Russian public opinion to the conflict.

Krotevych said the captured Russian cities could be used as bait to liberate Ukrainian territories occupied by Russian armed forces and declared annexed by Vladimir Putin last September.

The Ukrainian commander’s comments were quickly picked up by the Kyiv press.

The “Azov” regiment will take part in the Ukrainian offensive

The Azov Regiment was reformed last summer after most of the unit was destroyed or captured during the defense of the port city of Mariupol on the Sea of ​​Azov.

The last soldiers of the unit surrendered to Russian forces in mid-May after defending the city for months in a siege that drew international media attention. Bohdan Krotevichi was among the Ukrainian servicemen who were captured by the Russians.

He was released in September, when Russia exchanged more than 200 captured fighters of the Azov regiment, including unit commanders, for the “dark prince” of Ukrainian politics, Viktor Medvedchuk.

The Ukrainian government has designated the Azov regiment, which recently included other units of the country’s National Guard, as one of six “offensive brigades” that will be at the forefront of liberating Russian-occupied territories.

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