TESTIMONIES OF UKRAINIAN COMBATANTS AS A SOURCE FOR STUDYING THE KHERSON DEFENCE OPERATION (24 FEBRUARY – 01 MARCH 2022)

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to analyse the testimonies of military personnel regarding the defence of Kherson on 24 February – 1 March 2022, which was part of the initial stage of Russia’s full-scale aggression. Research methods: methods of verification and comparison of testimonies of military personnel of different levels – a sergeant (as a witness of the “trench truth”), a lieutenant (company commander) and a general, head of the Operational Group South (this group was responsible for the defence of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions). Their stories are compared with each other and with other sources of information about the course of the hostilities. The results of the study revealed that Ukrainian defenders in the South of Ukraine were completely inferior to the enemy in terms of personnel, tanks, armoured vehicles, artillery, and aviation. They were dispersed across the vast territory of Tavria, and dangerous areas such as Melitopol, Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, etc., were left uncovered. The main force of the Ukrainian army, the 59th Motorised Infantry Brigade, was withdrawn from the combat zone in December 2021 with only 60 % of its personnel, it was in the process of reformatting, and its artillery and engineering units were in camps far from its location at the Oleshky Sands training ground. Martial law was not declared until 24 February 2022, which meant that even our existing forces could not fully prepare to repel the enemy. Conclusions. Based on the testimony of the military, it is noted that the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the South of the country did not have the necessary personnel and means to counter the aggressor, in particular, to blow up the Antonivskyi Bridge and defend Kherson. Before the full-scale Russian invasion, which was known, martial law should have been introduced in a timely manner, mobilisation should have been carried out, and new military units should have been formed, including the Kherson Brigade of Territorial Defence.