Little Update on Ukraine: Press Review
Ukrainian press releases mentioned at least 90 skirmishes across the Eastern front recorded in Ukraine two days ago. All of those were prompted by local Russian counterattacks.
The Ukrainian press mentioned that the Russians lost a lot of manpower and hardware without gaining any ground.
The western press also mentioned heavy Russian losses on the Advivka front.
Complex Russian Air Operations
Ukraine has also reported “complex” Russian air operations on the same day. Some of those operations were close air support sorties flown in conjunction with ground assaults.
Most of those sorties apparently involved waves of drones deployed to overwhelm air defenses, followed by the simultaneous use of various air-to-ground ammunition including cruise missiles and glide bombs. These were fired under the cover of VKS fighter planes deployed to keep UkAF at bay.
The simultaneous use of several different types of weapons indicates a high level of planning, according to the Ukrainians.
Impact on Ukrainian Infrastructure
The rear echelons of the Ukrainian armed forces were hit, as well as industrial areas and infrastructure including Krivyi Rih and Kharkiv.
At the same time, British and American experts indicate the VKS is flying its platforms so much that wear and tear is eating into readiness and restricting the number of available platforms.
They emphasized how difficult it will be for Russia to maintain and replace its high-end platforms due to sanctions and parts scarcity.
Russian Strategy and OSINT Insights
They also emphasized how the Russians are learning to fly and fight from behind the envelope of Ukrainian Air Defence systems. While this means less effectiveness for strikes and less Close Air Support for Russian ground troops, the VKS still generates plenty of sorties and still manages to be a nuisance for Ukrainian infrastructure, the UAF front troops, and rear echelons, and for the UkAF.
Finally, some western OSINTs mentioned that Russia still has 8,900 visible armoured vehicles in boneyards across the country. Of these, 3,900 are APCs and IFVs, the rest being MBTs.
This doesn’t take into account vehicles kept in warehouses and covered yards. The number of those platforms that could be refurbished or be useful is unknown.
-RBM
