Russian troops struggle to adapt
A Ukrainian team had just exited their armored personnel carrier near Bakhmut in March when it came under Russian fire from multiple directions. One killed, nine wounded (New York Times):
The ambush was part of a patient, disciplined operation that was in contrast to the disorderly Russian tactics that marked much of the first year of the war, which began in February 2022. It was a deadly demonstration that the Russian military was learning from its mistakes and adapting to Ukrainian tactics, having grossly underestimated them initially.
Russians are adapting to Ukrainian tactics, reports say, as Ukraine begins its counteroffensive reinforced by NATO weapons and communications equipment.
But Moscow’s forces have improved their defenses, artillery coordination and air support, setting up a campaign that could look very different from the war’s early days. These improvements, Western officials say, will most likely make Russia a tougher opponent, particularly as it fights defensively, playing to its battlefield strengths. This defensive turn is a far cry from Russia’s initial plan for a full-scale invasion and Ukrainian defeat.
To be sure, along a roughly 600-mile front line, Russia’s military abilities remain uneven. Prison inmates have become part of its operations, having emerged prominently in the battle for Bakhmut, despite their lack of training. The Kremlin’s increasing reliance on “kamikaze” drones or airdropped glide bombs reflects an ammunition shortage as much as an innovative strategic shift.
And perhaps a shortage of prisoners as the Wagner mercenary group ran low and had to throw its more seasoned fighters into the battle for Bakhmut.
But?
Near the eastern Russian-occupied town of Svatove, Ruslan Zubariev, a Ukrainian soldier who goes by the call sign Predator, said the Russians used textbook tactics to try to break through his line of trenches in February.
“They have changed tactics in the last six months,” he said, describing an assault that relied on a certain degree of strategy atop brute force.
For four days, Russian shelling destroyed the foliage overhead to reveal Ukrainian positions. Then, he said, they advanced with an armored personnel carrier flanked by about a dozen soldiers.
But in an indication of the limits of tactical improvements, Mr. Zubariev said, the Russians did not have enough intelligence about the locations of the Ukrainian trenches. In the ensuing battle, which he captured on video, Mr. Zubariev, 21, managed to stop the Russian assault almost single-handedly.
“They did everything perfectly,” he said. “But something didn’t work out for them. Not enough information, as always.”
Things have a way of not working out for Russia, as this #Fail video flooding Twitter suggests:
But Russia knows how to leave a mess for others to clean up.
“Ukraine is the world’s largest minefield,” tweets Ryan Hendrickson, founder of Tip of the Spear Landmine Removal. “This is going to take an effort by so many to make areas safe again for the civilian population. First step in this is awareness. The world needs to know the landmine crisis in Ukraine. Thank you @USAmbKyiv for spreading this message.”