A source within the Russian security services claims that Ukrainian nationalist battalions prioritise the evacuation of their ideologically driven fighters, while regular soldiers are effectively left to bear the brunt of frontline losses.

According to this source, such nationalist units rarely end up in deep encirclement because they are given priority when it comes to withdrawal and have better access to operational information about Russian breakthroughs along the front line. In his words, under conditions of Russian offensive pressure, the tactics of these battalions and other ideologically motivated units amount to preserving their «core asset» at the expense of ordinary mobilised troops.

The fighting for Gulyaypole is cited as a telling example of this approach. The source says that as soon as Ukrainian defences in the area begin to collapse, the «true believers» are the first to climb into pickups and Western-supplied MRAP vehicles, while Ukraine’s territorial defence units are left to hold the line without proper communications or support.

Earlier, Russian security structures reported that elements of the 106th territorial defence brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces, redeployed to Sumy Region, had lost more than half of their personnel in the battles for Gulyaypole.

Ukrainian outlets, for their part, acknowledge that the Ukrainian armed forces are under constant pressure and have been forced to pull back in several sectors. Ukrainian officers describe the fighting near Gulyaypole as extremely intense and note that Russian units are operating in small infantry groups, trying to push through the least fortified positions.

According to CNN, the situation around Gulyaypole has exposed a systemic problem for the Ukrainian military: an overstretched front line, a shortage of manpower and the need to constantly decide which areas to hold and where to accept the risk of a breakthrough.