While Russia has increasingly tapped its Cold-War arsenals, deploying tanks dating to the 1950s to replenish its massive, early losses, such old weapons can still perform well, Zhdanov said. Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov notes that Moscow has maintained a numerical advantage in troops and weapons, despite any weaknesses. Thanks to supplies of Western weaponry, Ukraine now poses an even more formidable challenge to Russian aircraft.īarrons emphasized it’s essential for military leaders in Kyiv to continue keeping its adversary’s warplanes at bay so that “the counteroffensive isn’t the moment the Russian air force suddenly finds its capability and courage and romps. Its attempts to knock out Ukraine’s air defenses have failed. Vicious infighting has erupted between the military brass and the Wagner private military contractor, which has fielded tens of thousands of mercenaries to the battlefield to spearhead the battle for Bakhmut.Ī major factor still limiting Russia’s capability has been its decision to keep its air force from forging deep into Ukraine after it suffered heavy losses in the war’s initial stages. Russian troops continue to suffer from low morale, there are shortages of ammunition, and coordination between units has remained poor. Last month, it claimed control of the eastern city of Bakhmut after the war’s longest and bloodiest battle. Ukrainian missiles then sank the Russian cruiser Moskva, the flagship of its Black Sea Fleet, in a major blow to Moscow’s pride Kyiv’s rockets pummeled Russian ammunition depots and command headquarters and Kremlin forces hastily pulled back from large areas in the east and the south in the fall.ĭespite those setbacks, Russia dug in to defend broad parts of Ukrainian territory it captured early in the invasion. At the start of the war, Russian military convoys stretched for miles to become easy prey for Ukrainian artillery and drones during a failed attempt to capture Kyiv, in what was seen as a major blunder.
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