Drones and motorcycles. Experts assess the new tactics of the Russian army in the war against Ukraine
Russia uses drone attacks and motorcycle assaults on the frontline
Thus, in May, Russian troops captured approximately 278 square kilometers of Ukrainian land, more than double their gains in April.
The aggressor had the greatest advance south of Kostyantynivka in the Donetsk region and near the Russian border in the north of the Sumy region.
This year, a noticeable change on the front line has been the systematic use of motorcycles and civilian cars for rapid movement across open terrain. But while Ukraine relies on them for logistical needs, the Russians are using these vehicles for assaults.
"This is a kind of revival of cavalry, but with internal combustion engines," said Colonel Viktor Kevlyuk, an analyst at the Ukrainian Center for Defense Strategies.
In the Sumy region, the Russians operate in small infantry groups of two or three people. The task of such groups is to find a gap in the Ukrainian defensive positions and crawl through it. As soon as they succeed, additional groups are sent to help them.
The Ukrainian defense is aided by a difficult terrain, mostly ravines, which means the Russians have to rely on roads to advance. However, if the Russians reach the large forest area northeast of Sumy, it will be harder to contain them, says Pasi Paroinen, a military analyst with the Finnish Black Bird Group.
The leaves of the trees will give the Russian infantry good cover from the Ukrainian drones, and then the offensive can be contained only by transferring additional infantry forces to this direction.
However, the main focus of Russian efforts is Konstantinovka in Donbas, says Paroinen. In his opinion, all other fronts are just a distraction for Ukrainian forces from the direction of the main blow. According to the Ukrainian military, in some areas of the Konstantinovka direction, Russia has a numerical advantage in men of 20 to 1.
And it is in Donbas that Russia is actively using its motorcycle tactics. According to analysts, it consists of the following.
First, Russian drones actively strike Ukrainian logistics in a certain area in order to completely isolate it from external support. Then the isolated area is actively shelled with artillery and aerial bombs. After that, small detachments of attack aircraft go into attack, often on motorcycles.
It is this tactic that the Russians are trying to implement as systematically as possible.
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