Head of British Army on the frontline of ‘battle laboratory’ where Russia ‘prepares for war with the West’
Former Special Forces commander General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith is the first Army Chief of Staff to venture to the “Line of Contact” which separates Ukrainian troops from 34,000 Russian-backed separatists.
Joined by The Sun on his visit, he said: “There is an emerging prototype warfare.” And he branded it “virulent and insidious”.
Asked if these “shadow war” tactics could one day be turned on Russia’s adversaries including the UK, he warned: “I think we’ve got to assume that.
“They’re not playing by any set of rules. There are now no rules, and people are having to gauge their own political and military tolerances.”
Yet Russia, along with states such as China and Iran, are wary of going toe-to-toe with the West.
Instead they are changing the rules and going for low blows — low enough to wreak serious damage in a country such as Ukraine, but not quite enough to provoke all-out war.
Military strategists call this “hybrid warfare” and “grey zone” battle.
And the Ukrainians are the only UK ally fighting against it.
Commanders there proudly showed off a spy drone recently downed by AK-47 fire. But the situation is dire.
Along the 190-mile Line of Contact, the Russian-backed forces have more than 470 tanks and hundreds of artillery pieces and rocket launchers.
All are under the command of Russian military chiefs Major General Prymakov in Donetsk and Lieutenant General Knyazev in neighbouring Luhansk.
At its narrowest the two sides are just 50 yards apart — so close they are able to “shout at each other with grenades”, according to one Ukrainian commander.
This year alone the separatist force has shelled Ukraine territory more than 1,700 times, often using weapons banned under international treaties. The Ukrainians are forced to respond in kind.
An estimated 19million square yards have been condemned as unsafe due to landmines.
Russia has co-opted politicians and media channels to control the news and sent out mass text alerts accusing Ukraine of war crimes.
Disinformation is spread via social media while cyber attacks have crippled the metro train network. One hacking assault in 2015 shut off power for 250,000 homes.
Meanwhile car bombs have been used to assassinate targets of the Russians.
Lieutenant General Oleksandr Syryskyi, commanding Ukraine troops on the Line of Contact, fears the war is being forgotten by the West.
He said: “It is a concern because everyone is used to this conflict — but we are on the front line. We are holding back the aggressive actions of the Russian Federation.”
