Mykola Malomuzh, Ukraine's Army General and Head of Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service (2005-2010), shared his opinions with Espreso TV.“It should be noted that the Dobropillia operation began several months ago. According to Putin’s orders, the goal was to break through the main axis here, with the possibility of capturing Kostiantynivka, Kramatorsk, and Sloviansk. We remember that it effectively failed, especially ahead of the Trump–Putin meeting in Alaska, which was a shock for Putin. Today, restoring positions is the top priority. Considering that we have encircled the enemy’s second positions and the third are already almost surrounded, there was no prospect for their advance. But you see, this is a model where lower-level units see what is really happening, while the leaders report that the situation is fully under control. Over time, however, it becomes clear that this is not the case,” he said.Mykola Malomuzh noted that after Russia's Chief of General Staff Gerasimov's meeting with Putin, additional instructions were issued to ramp up activity in this sector — the Pokrovsk direction generally and Dobropillia in particular — to recapture positions.“And the advance on Kostiantynivka and then into the Donetsk agglomeration as a whole. Obviously, that did not succeed, although new units had been prepared — frankly, two brigades, the kind that already have combat experience. One marine brigade, which they call 'elite.' And, of course, armored vehicles, which the enemy now rarely uses in offensive operations. We recorded this and struck their rear areas while they were still preparing for the offensive, and during the attacks we smashed those resources — destroying virtually most of the BTRs and BMPs that were there, the tanks that had advanced, and more than a hundred Russian servicemen,” he said.The Ukrainian army general emphasized that the Ukrainian Defense Forces not only foiled Russia's plans but also destroyed extremely strong enemy positions in that sector.“Because, as a rule, for such coordinated operations, especially those carried out under the control of the Russian General Staff, experienced fighters of the aggressor army are deployed, and of course equipment and ammunition are used to combine strikes across different sectors along our long defensive line. It didn’t succeed, and we achieved real success. This is how you must act unconventionally: detect them earlier, strike while they are grouping, and then hit from the flanks, the rear, and the front. That allows you to neutralize any offensive if you truly prepare unexpected counterattacks and, of course, destroy the enemy across the entire attack system,” Mykola Malomuzh added.