The Russia-Ukraine war has left the world stunned. Russia, known as the world's second military power, is not as powerful as imagined. In my impression, the Ukrainian army was extremely tenacious and even launched counterattacks against the Russian army many times.
In addition to NATO has continuously provided weapons and equipment to Ukraine, it is also due to several outstanding Ukrainian military generals. Among them, the most outstanding performer is the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army’s ground forces and the commander-in-chief of the east, General Alexander Silsky. What few people know is that the best general in Ukraine is actually an authentic Russian. In 1965, Sirsky was born in Vladimir, 200 kilometers east of Moscow. His ancestors were all authentic Russians. When he was a child, Sirsky went to school with many commanders who later became Russians. In 1986, Silsky graduated from the Higher Military Command School in Moscow. This school was equivalent to the US Military Academy at West Point in the Soviet Union. Later, many senior Russian generals also graduated from this school. They were all Silsky's classmates. No one of these Soviet military academy students at the time would have thought that they would become bitter enemies in the future.
General Silsky
Silsky entered the army of the former Soviet Union after graduation. In 1990, the 25-year-old Silsky was transferred to the Kiev Military District. A year later, the Soviet Union disintegrated , According to the agreement reached by the presidents of Russia and Ukraine, Russians serving in the Ukrainian army can either stay and become Ukrainian citizens on a voluntary basis or return to Russia to serve in the newly established Russian federal army. Although Silsky is a Russian, he chose to stay in the Ukrainian army. In the next 20 years, Silsky relied on his talents to continuously advance in the army, becoming the commander of the 72nd Brigade and the chief of staff of the 8th Army. In 2019, Silsky became the commander of the Joint Operations Department, and soon after was transferred to the commander of the Ukrainian Army. On August 23 of the same year, Silsky was promoted to general.
Unlike Zaluzhny, the talkative commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, the thin Silsky is more like an ascetic , obsessed with fitness . He spent all his free time studying combat instead of having fun and drinking like his immediate boss. This also gave Silski outstanding combat abilities.
Since 2021, the Russians have been mobilizing troops and heavy equipment on the Russian-Ukrainian border, and a war is imminent. But at that time, everyone in the Ukrainian army believed that the focus of the Russian army's offensive would be the Donbass area. No one expected that the Russian army would raid Kiev on February 24. At that time, all the elite Ukrainian troops were in the east, and Kiev was defended by only two brigades. At the moment of crisis, Silsky was ordered to take charge. Silsky, who is a Russian himself, knew the Russian combat style very well and knew that as long as he withstood the Russian army's three initial blows, the opportunity would come. Silsky divided the Ukrainian army into small groups and attacked the Russian army's logistics supply lines and armored units . Soon the Russian armored forces were completely blocked on dozens of kilometers of roads. By April, the ground in Ukraine had turned into a swamp. The Russian army was completely paralyzed on the road to Kiev.
The strategizing General Sirsky
In September 2022, Sirsky once again shocked the world. He planned another successful counterattack-the Kharkov Counterattack;
Sirsky successfully convinced top Ukrainian officials, including President Zelensky, and used the United States' advantage in world public opinion to continuously spread the Ukrainian army's counterattack in the south and exaggerate the threat of the Ukrainian army to the city of Kherson. Silsky even deliberately allowed some Ukrainian troops to be captured, spreading the news that the Ukrainian troops would counterattack Kherson . As expected, the Russian army was fooled and transferred a large number of elite troops to the direction of Kherson. However, in the southern part of Kharkiv Oblast, only a small number of troops including a group of close tanks were left.In order to avoid Russian reconnaissance, Silsky dispersed his troops and sent tens of thousands of troops and equipment to the Kharkov front line from the road in company units. On September 6, the Ukrainian army suddenly launched a counterattack in Kharkov. The Russian army was caught off guard and retreated hastily; within five days, more than 500 settlements and 12,000 square kilometers of land were lost, including the key transportation hubs Izyum and Kupyansk. This is the first battle-level attack carried out by the Ukrainian military since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war. The Russian army suffered a major defeat. This victory greatly encouraged Ukraine and NATO, and then Western countries once again provided a large amount of assistance to Ukraine.
Sirsky commanding on the frontline
At present, General Sirsky is still commanding troops on the frontline. Talking about the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, he said, "We have no choice but to win this war." Just like Sirsky, although he is Russian, he is now loyal to Ukraine.
