The UK Ministry of Defence has released a new intelligence update revealing significant challenges faced by the Russian military in sustaining its operations in Ukraine, particularly in the Kursk region.
According to the intelligence update, “one of the units deployed to defend against the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk oblast is a Specialised Motor Rifle Regiment formed unusually of Aerospace Forces (VKS) personnel.”
The report, based on information from the Russian investigative outlet Vazhnye Istorii, notes that this Motor Rifle Regiment was established in May 2024 and has since been subordinated to the Russian Northern Grouping of Forces.
The update elaborates that the personnel forming this VKS-manned regiment include individuals “previously in specialist roles such as early-warning radar operators and at Long Range Aviation Heavy Bomber regiments.”
The reallocation of these specialists, according to the UK Defence Intelligence, “likely demonstrates continuing personnel shortages.”
The update adds that by employing these personnel in an infantry role, “they are also being misused, which could reduce Russian capability to re-take territory in Kursk oblast.”
The intelligence briefing further highlights Russia’s ongoing efforts to address its manpower challenges, stating, “Russia continues to develop new units and recruit more personnel to sustain its mass attritional warfare approach against Ukraine.”
However, it warns that the “high casualty rates that result mean that Russia needs to continuously replenish frontline infantry personnel, which will almost certainly continue to limit Russia’s ability to generate higher capability units.”
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 21 August 2024.
Find out more about Defence Intelligence’s use of language: https://t.co/RuyUBJmVx3#StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/gpmQHF0fEe
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) August 21, 2024
This Picture alone conveys just how this War is being conducted. Just like every other picture we see on every media site.
Waiting to be corrected.
Sorry, don’t quite understanding your post…
with so many camera fitted drones operating on both sides, then it stands to reason there will be an awful lot of footage released by both sides of things getting blown up.
An artillery shell,mortars etc are not guided they just go where they are lobbed.granted there are some guided shells but the majority of guided weapons are missiles and bombs.
There’s been an interesting reversion in the Russian artillery park, eg the D-30, from the 1950’s has gone from a relatively rare pre-war system, to a very common sight on the Russian side, as large numbers in storage, and simplicity have lead to them going into front line roles at a very high rate. Add in the Russians firing any ammunition that can be gotten to them, even the best of Kim’s private vintage, and yeah. I’m not sure anyone was debating that Russia has been using a lot of unguided projectiles?
Also been number of other old artillery systems drag out of storage such as MT-12 & M-46.There also been a suggestion that Wagner were using WW 2 ere D-1
I saw a Twitter post of Ukrainians with a captured 85 mm AT gun that apparently started production in WW2. The fact that Russia is now complicating their logistics by resorting to the old 130 mm arty says similar.
This is my issue with some of the more bleak reporting we were getting some months ago, that was surely a political angle: The interviews with senior generals and suchlike who were saying that Russia had “reconstituted” it’s forces, and recovered their tank losses and that kind of thing. Sure, numbers might have been up, but quality of both men and materiel was through the floor.
I’m not saying that we shouldn’t start re-arming, or that we shouldn’t take Russia seriously. But the biggest reason Russia is still advancing at all is because we aren’t providing sufficient ammunition etc. to Ukraine, not because the Russian armed forces has got bigger and scarier.
Baker, you don’t make as much sense as you think you do. Take that as you will…
I’m flattered you felt the need to look through previous comments. For the sake of eased reading, please keep your alias the same so that people know when to skip past.
There’s a reason nobody knows what you’re talking about. News flash, it’s not them, – it’s you.
Idiotic, vague comments with little to no meaning. I’m overjoyed I had the pleasure of this conversation, please keep up your valued contribution.
What do you mean by that, are you saying the ‘picture’ is wrong?
See my follow up below, agreed I thought you meant the ‘big picture’ of the entire Ukraine war not the actual picture in the post, duh
You mean the actual photo, I’m thinking you are referring to the bigger picture of the entire war!
Hopefully they gain some good intelligence from prisoner interviews….
We desperately need to put defence spending back to 4% of GDP and reestablish the BAOR with at-least 4 divisions as the Russian’s are just about to sweep Ukraine away and strike straight through the Baltics, the Nordic’s, Poland, Germany, the Low Countries and France.
I know they have no industry to speak of, a tiny economy and that they have run out of not only old weapons but fresh bodies as well but this is surely all a rouse because we know what an amazing military and industrial power the Russians are and that Putin is clearly a military genius playing 4 D chess while us mere mortals get bogged down in silly subjects like logistics and military industrial strategy.
😀
I wonder how many will fall for this….!
Got to be a few 😀
You forgot to specify that it’s 4 Armoured Divisions we need. None of this 1980’s one Infantry Division held back in the UK malarky.
This suspect picture has nothing to do with Kursk. Simply a ‘Library’ shot of something going ‘bang’.
You ill have to whistle’ for 4% of GDP.
Sorry typo
This picture, I suspect, has nothing to do with Kursk. Simply a ‘Library’ shot of something going ‘bang’.
You ill have to whistle’ for 4% of GDP.
In fairness, getting the licensing for relevant pictures can be a nightmare.
Pitiful, tragic & entirely avoidable waste of Russian lives. Criminal misuse in human wave attacks. All this for Putin’s ego/legacy.
Agree, but think of the fat contracts for reconstruction when it ends. And Ukrainian national debt. Always wheels within wheels with a proxy war.
In fairness, there’s a lot more too the Russian tactics than just Human wave attacks. RUSI published a good look at their methods during the height of the fighting in Bakhmut (or I can expound when I’ve got a bit more time). Costly in lives, for sure, but there’s a brutal calculus to their methods.
On a more agreeable note the draws for the European zone countries for the qualifying groups for the 2026 World Cup should be drawn in Oct/Nov. Russia will of course be able to apply, but as they were banned for the last WC and nothing has changed with their imvasion of Ukraine there should be zero chance of them being able to participate in 2026. I can’t wait to hear all the usual whinging from the Kremlin mouthpieces on how they are being picked on. I think quite a lot of their sports people have already jumped ship and represent other countries now.
How long before the Russia’s start deploying the “Pals Battalions”
Never. The “Pals Battalions” where an initiative to get volunteers to sign up on mass. Russia doesn’t need to do that (at least not for fighting in Kursk) as it can just conscript people.
The closest you’ll get to Pals Battalions are probably Akhmat and Wagner (the former as it’s the only really “ethnic” unit, and the latter because it actually started as a bunch of Neo-N@zi mates who started an PMC together). Generally a Russian “Pals Battalion” would be very divided along ethnic lines and Russia I think is quite keen to avoid that. Better to mix everyone together in a general “We’re all Russian (kind of, none of you are from Moscow)” way.
Not that pootin cares but videos are starting to emerge now of conscripts families getting the hump because pootin said they were not going to be used on the front line! Kursk has shattered that ‘promise’! Still more people for the exchange fund at the rate they are surrendering😀
It’s a little bit more complicated than that. According to Russian law soldiers serving their mandatory conscription can’t be employed for operations outside Russia unless in times of War. Since the SMO is an SMO not a War they technically can’t be sent to Ukraine (ignoring that, according to Russia apparently Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Crimea and Zaphorizia are Russia, that little fact makes things messy and highlights some Kremlin hypocrisy). So the Conscripts have been used to backfill military positions within Russia, such as guarding the Ukranian border, while the Contract Soldiers and Mobiks got sent to the fighting in Ukraine (again, in theory, in practice it appears not to be so simple).
When Ukraine crossed the border suddenly the conscripts where now legally allowed to be used because they where in Russia. So technically, Putin hasn’t actually broken any promises or laws. Of course that won’t stop people getting the hump with him.
👍 Mind you Kursk has shown yet again if the Ukrainians can get to use manoeuvre warfare they are good at it,now if only they had decent airpower to back that up they could achieve all sorts!
It seems none of my comments are allowed ?