A US-based think tank determined the Russian forces fighting on the line of the Ukraine war no longer have the ability to return artillery fire in key areas at the front, a detriment that may have led to Ukrainian gains in the previous weeks, Newsweek reports.
In a report released Friday, the Institute for the Study of War said Russian commanders have long warned the Kremlin that the Russian military was losing its “counter-battery capabilities” in Ukraine. Russian Battalion commander Alexander Khodakovsky said that his units have been under intense shelling, leading to a breakdown of battle readiness and moral, particularly because Russian forces cannot return the fire. “Khodakovsky expressed concerns about whether distressed and exhausted Russian forces will be able to defend against a future Ukrainian offensive in this sector of the front,” the report reads.
The ISW noted that the situation is not consistent across all Russian units. “However, Khodakovsky’s comments likely accurately reflect the situation in his limited but important sector of the frontline as well as the situation for often neglected proxy military formations such as Khodakovsky’s Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) ‘Vostok’ Battalion,”