The problem, as expert observers point out, is that due to heavy casualties, conscription avoidance at home and shrinking availability of troops suitable for combat, none of its formations actually has the number of soldiers assigned to it that such military designations customarily suggest. The result is that the Kremlin is repeatedly shocked and outraged by offensive failures due to misunderstanding of capabilities based on false reporting from the field of actual troop strength. JL
Oleksandra Vakulina reports in EuroNews:
Russia has committed elements of up to eight brigades around Avdiivka. These elements have suffered some of Russia’s highest casualty rates of 2023 so far. Russian military units are generally undermanned and may be battalions, brigades, or regiments in name only with smaller personnel complements than their echelon designations would suggest. Political leaders demand more territory to be seized but the military cannot generate effective operational-level offensive action.Russian forces appear to have concentrated a sizable portion of their combat power around Avdiivka in the region of Donetsk.
Over the weekend, Britain's defence ministry said that Russia has probably committed elements of up to eight brigades to the sector. These elements have likely suffered some of Russia’s highest casualty rates of 2023 so far.
Ukrainian Tavriisk Group of Forces Spokesperson Colonel Oleksandr Shtupun said that Russia currently has 40,000 personnel in the Avdiivka direction and is transferring additional manpower to the area.
Ukraine’s defence minister Rustem Umerov told the US defence secretary Lloyd Austin that Russian losses in Avdiivka amount to approximately 4,000 soldiers.
US-based think-tank the Institute for the Study of War has routinely assessed that Russian military units are likely generally undermanned and may be battalions, brigades, or regiments in name only with smaller personnel complements than their echelon designations would suggest.
In its intelligence update, the UK defence ministry notes that even Russian nationalist ‘mil bloggers’ have been harshly critical of the military’s tactics in the operation.
The nature of the operation suggests that Russia’s core military-political challenge remains the same as it has throughout most of the war.
Political leaders demand more territory to be seized but the military cannot generate effective operational-level offensive action.
2 comments:
where it's possible that Russian military units are undermanned, functioning more as symbolic representations than as fully operational brigades. "In Name Only" implies that their formal title isn't in line with their true abilities or power. I admire how vulnerable and sincere you are in your writing."Your blog has become a valuable resource for me, providing actionable insights and a fresh perspective on various topics."
Thank you!
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