On the southeastern front of Ukraine, where the war has been waged for months At a slow and exhausting pace, a dangerous crack has begun to open. This is not a new Russian offensive or a sudden collapse of defenses, but something more difficult to contain: internal clashes between Ukrainian units who share a trench, but no command or mission.
In Zaporizhzhia province, especially in the sector west of Huliaipole, tensions between assault troops and territorial defense brigades They have gone from hidden discomfort to open incidents. A situation that, according to Ukrainian military sources, is being taken advantage of by Russian forces to advance.
A fracture in the chain of command
The problem has a structural root. Territorial defense brigades depend on regional commands and they are designed for a war of attrition: defending towns, maintaining static lines and resisting for long periods with limited resources. The assault troops, on the other hand, They respond directly to the commander in chiefGeneral Oleksandr Syrskyi, and are designed for rapid, offensive and high-intensity operations.
When resources are scarce – as is now the case at various points on the front – that difference becomes a focus of conflict. The assault units, with greater political and operational weight, They tend to impose their needs. The territorial ones, less visible and less equipped, end up taking the blame for the setbacks.
As recognized by the military ombudsman, Olha Reshetylova, there are “real problems” between both types of units in Zaporizhia, derived from:
- Poorly transmitted orders
- Lack of coordination between commands
- Incompatible objectives on the ground
Huliaipole: when defense becomes reproach
The fall of Huliaipole last month was a turning point. After weeks of resisting under increasing pressure, the 102nd and 106th territorial brigades were forced to retreat in the face of a Russian force much superior in numbers and means. Far from receiving support, they were publicly singled out.
own Syrskyi blamed these units for the loss of the enclavedespite the fact that independent reports highlighted that they had been without rotations for months, with limited supplies and accumulated casualties. Maintaining positions in these conditions, pro-Ukrainian analysts pointed out, It was “practically impossible.”
The retreat to the west, in which territorial troops and assault units such as the 48th Battalion and the 225th Assault Regiment coincided, only increased friction.
The incident of January 5
Tension peaked in early January. In late December, the 17th Army Corps ordered the 108th Territorial Brigade, deployed near Mala Tokmachka, to integrate into a new battle group under the command of the 225th Assault Regiment.
The order was met with resistance from territorial officers, who claimed to be neither trained nor equipped for offensive operations. The formation of the group was delayed for several days… until she stopped volunteering.
According to military observer Thorkill, on January 5, masked stormtroopers forcibly removed members of the 108th Brigade from their positions and transported them in a truck. The command of the 225th Regiment denied any threat or kidnapping, but the episode left a deep wound in internal cohesion.
A problem that goes beyond a single episode
Days later, some of the transferred soldiers returned to their original unit. However, about twenty remain under the control of the 225th Regiment, receiving new training. Officially, they will not participate in assaults.
That explanation raises more questions than answers:
- If they are not going to fight as a shock force, why were they transferred?
- What real authority do territorial brigades have compared to assault brigades?
- How many similar incidents have not come to light?
Meanwhile, Russian forces continue to press the front. The lack of coordination, human exhaustion and the exchange of internal reproaches are generating operational vacuums that Moscow does not need to create: It is enough to take advantage of them.
In a war where every meter counts, Ukraine faces a persistent external enemy and an equally dangerous internal challenge. Because when orders contradict each other and units distrust each other, the front line is not only weakened: it is broken.
