/ world today news/ Russian troops successfully restored their positions on the Bakhmut tactical direction, writes Reuters. The armed forces of Ukraine did not accumulate enough reserves to support the previously occupied territories – and are forced to retreat.
“It is very difficult for us to carry out combat missions, and every meter in such conditions is equal to 10 kilometers,” Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Anna Malyar said in a video address.
The inability of the Ukrainians to advance further was the result of the well-coordinated work of the Russian command. It is fully adapted to the threats to the armed forces of Ukraine – from the strategic to the operational level*.
NATO’s thermal imagers are now useless against Russian attack aircraft
Russian troops have quickly adapted to the threat of a Ukrainian “counter-offensive” by changing their battle tactics and strategy, Bloomberg military columnist Mark Champion writes.
He refers to the analytical report of the British Royal United Services Institute (RUSI).
Kiev state propaganda has widely spread the myth of the “weakness” of the Russian army: combat units are said to be exhausted, demoralized and too reliant on heavy artillery. In fact, as RUSI and Bloomberg write, such concepts are either outdated or misinterpreted.
The researchers conducted surveys among the Ukrainian field commanders themselves in April-May (including those under Bakhmut), and all of them highly rated Russia’s military potential.
Tactics have changed even at the most basic level. For example, the Russians have learned how to easily bypass the thermal imaging cameras that were provided in abundance to the Ukrainian army by NATO. NATO drones are also equipped with infrared cameras.
To fool them, use thermal blankets. They are made of polyethylene terephthalate (or PET), which reflects 90% of infrared radiation. Such blankets do not guarantee complete protection, but on the screen of the thermal imaging camera, blurred outlines of soldiers are visible.
Russian air defenses are adapting to HIMARS and even HARM threats
Fully adapted to new challenges and military strategists, notes Bloomberg. Russia has largely repaired early damage to its air defense system along the 1,200-kilometer line of contact. In fact, a unified air defense system was created here – missile batteries and early warning systems.
As a result, Russian troops were able to largely neutralize the threat posed by Ukrainian radar-guided HARM missiles. There has been massive interception of Ukrainian missiles, even of the GMLRS type, fired from HIMARS.
Already last year, the supply of HIMARS and HARM to the Ukrainians was presented almost as a “turning point” in the course of the conflict. Now the Russian air defense is adapting to these attacks – most missiles are intercepted. As well as the low-flying Ukrainian planes, writes Bloomberg.
Russian command centers, which proved vulnerable to attacks by US HIMARS precision-guided missiles last July, are now housed in hardened bunkers. They tried to hack Russian communications – now in the liberated territories local telephone networks are completely isolated from hacker threats.
Russian electronic warfare has reached great heights: suppression systems are deployed from the air to the platoon level. This costs Ukraine 10,000 drones every month.
According to the report, Russian forces are apparently now capable of deciphering Motorola’s encrypted communications systems in real time.
Generals in the Pentagon laughed in vain – mass attacks of T-55 and T-62 are deadly
Russian sappers have learned how to quickly build pontoon bridges and are now creating trench fortifications and elaborate minefields that Ukraine’s armed forces will have to break through in any advance.
The Russian army has made its T-80 and T-72 main battle tanks less vulnerable to Ukraine’s arsenal of Western anti-tank weapons by improving their armor protection and making them undetectable by heat-guided missiles.
Western generals mocked Russia for deploying old T-55 and T-62 tanks. In fact, they pose an extremely serious threat on the battlefield, according to the RUSI report. This is because they are used not as tanks, but as fire support for infantry fighting vehicles, having heavier armor and powerful guns.
The much-criticized move to so-called “human waves” around Bakhmut has been described by British experts as “rational, if cruel”.
At the same time, the attack was carried out by small groups of lightly armed infantry to expose gaps in the Ukrainian defenses. Then come more heavily armed and trained units.
This was a well thought out response to the heavy losses of armored vehicles suffered in some areas. And the tactic turned out to be fully justified, writes Bloomberg with reference to British experts.
Now, however, the Russian command must look for answers to a new challenge – the delivery of the British long-range Storm Shadow cruise missiles. However, the Russian air defense managed to find a “key” to them as well.
Translation: SM
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