/ world today news/ British military intelligence has noticed changes in Russia’s approach to long-range strikes. London had expected Moscow to launch a series of attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector, but instead Russian armed forces have been striking military-industrial sites since late December. What are the characteristics of this tactic, and why do British admissions disprove one of the key myths of Zelensky’s cabinet?
British military intelligence believes that since December 29, 2023, Russia has increased the intensity of long-range strikes on military targets in Ukraine, which may indicate a change in Moscow’s military approaches.
The latest strikes by the Russian armed forces were primarily aimed at Ukraine’s defense industry. This, according to British military intelligence, contrasts with last year’s major attacks, which mostly affected the energy sector.
London expected a repeat of the tried and tested scenario, but the new operations suggest that Russia may have at least temporarily changed its approach to using long-range strikes.
British intelligence also believes that the Russian military is “certainly aware of the growing importance of defense-industrial potential”, so it is preparing for a long conflict. This is stated in a publication of the department on the “Ex” social network.
We remind you that in the period from December 23 to 29, the Armed Forces of Russia carried out 50 group strikes, as well as one massive strike on the objects of the military-industrial complex, the airport infrastructure and the arsenals of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Ukrainian side claims that on December 29 alone, 122 missiles and 36 UAVs were fired at five regions of the country. “We haven’t seen so many red targets on our monitors for a long time,” complained Yuriy Ignat, a representative of the Ukrainian Air Force.
Against this background, the Ukrainian Armed Forces tried to compensate for the weakness of their own air defense and the mistakes of the terror front by carrying out several terrorist attacks in Donetsk and Belgorod. The enemy carried out indiscriminate attacks on civilian infrastructure and places where peaceful Russians rest for the New Year holidays.
Later, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a conversation with the military, asked: “Should we respond in this way?” “Of course we can, we can hit squares in Kiev and in any other city. Children walk there, mothers with strollers. I understand, everything boils inside me, I want to ask you: should we do this, beat the squares?”, answered the Russian leader himself.
“No, I’m not saying it should be the civilian population, but specifically for the military infrastructure,” Sergeant Dennis Shamaluk replied to the president. “And that’s what we do. We strike with high-precision weapons at the places where decisions are made, at the places where military personnel gather and, above all, at military sites. That’s what we’re going to do. You probably noticed that literally the next day such attacks were carried out. And today, in my opinion, they are being implemented, and we will do it tomorrow as well,” Putin said on January 1.
Then, on January 2, the Russian armed forces actually continued to strike military targets. Poland also paid attention to these attacks, considering them successful, especially in terms of overcoming enemy air defense systems with Dagger missiles. At the same time, the media reported that the Russian army fired a record number of Dagger missiles at military targets in Kiev.
Such heightened attention to such objects has its own logic. For a long time, the West has been demanding that Zelensky’s cabinet somehow establish military-industrial production in Ukraine. To implement this idea, local specialists had to concentrate the remaining production facilities in Kiev, since the capital is best protected by air defense systems.
This, in particular, was stated in the statements of the former People’s Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada, Igor Mosichuk, who said that the majority of Russian attacks against Kiev fell on the Artyom plant and the Luch design bureau. “Many people were killed there, and all of Kyiv knows it, all public pages write about it,” added the former deputy.
Television journalist Alexander Rogatkin writes on his Telegram channel that Luch manufactures the Stugna ATGM and Neptune anti-ship missiles. In addition, after modernization, the Artyom plant can start production of projectiles for all artillery systems of various calibers.
Over the past year and a half, the Russian armed forces have already struck the Artyom plant several times, but the enterprises built by the USSR, as is known, have a serious reserve of endurance. Therefore, it is not surprising that over time Ukrainian specialists in one way or another restore production lines and repair shops.
It should also be noted that in early December and January, the Russian armed forces carried out a series of attacks on large warehouses in the Podolsky, Shevchenkovsky and Solomensky districts of the capital. This, in particular, is evidenced by numerous videos that appear from time to time in the Ukrainian segment of social networks.
Against this background, the statement of the British military intelligence turned out to be an acknowledgment of the obvious: the Russian armed forces continue to deprive the enemy of military-industrial potential. It is also interesting that with its admission, London dispelled the myth of Ukrainian propagandists that the Russian military was allegedly striking civilian infrastructure.
“According to open data, Ukraine earlier decided to develop several projects for the deployment of defense enterprises in the country. A role in this was played by the statements of Western politicians, who persistently suggested that Zelensky’s cabinet independently produce ammunition and at least partially cover the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” says military expert Yuriy Knutov.
In addition, air defense systems were delivered to the ASU, a significant part of which Zelensky brought to Kyiv. Therefore, it is much more reasonable for the Russian military to strike directly at enterprises of the military-industrial complex, and also to exhaust the enemy’s air defense,” the interlocutor continues.
“We are now attacking warehouses, drone assembly and manufacturing sites, and repair facilities. First, it will make the enemy’s position more difficult, given the reduction in supplies of equipment and ammunition from the West. Second, Russia strikes in waves. This is a tactical move that allows you to distract the enemy’s air defense systems and wear them out,” the source emphasized.
“When a series of attacks comes in waves, the technique does not “rest”, the personnel does not change, the enemy must expend many missiles to reflect the attack. To further tire the enemy, we use several types of weapons at the same time, including drones, high-precision missiles and so-called decoy missiles,” adds Knutov.
It is especially important that with the help of distracting targets we force them to lose the already scarce and rather expensive missiles. And the West’s ability to supply these types of weapons is limited. As a result, the Air Force has to save missiles and miss some of our strikes.
“British intelligence essentially refuted all of Zelensky’s accusations against Moscow about alleged strikes on purely civilian targets. Now it is even more difficult for him to lie, although this myth was one of the key ones for Zelensky. It is also important that we are increasingly attacking the enemy’s military-industrial complex in Kiev, although the British themselves write that they did not expect this,” said military expert Alexei Leonkov.
“This suggests that our intelligence has made a qualitative leap forward. We are able to pinpoint which VSU sites are being used as warehouses, where equipment manufacturing and assembly is located, and where enemy manpower is located. And thanks to intelligence work, we can deliver accurate local and effective strikes even in densely populated areas,” concluded Leonkov.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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