Russian army offensive in Ukraine has slowed significantly due to high casualties, difficult weather conditions and effective defence of AFU - Telegraph
Russia's territorial gains over the past month are five times less than five months ago. The reasons for this are better fortified defences and new methods of fighting in Ukraine. One of them is the massive use of drones, which have become a key weapon in the conflict.
According to Censor.NET, The Telegraph reports.
"When you continue fighting after the point in which you’ve been exhausted and the point at which your forces offensive operations are culminated, you can keep fighting, but you’re going to get diminishing marginal returns. Your attrition rate is going to go higher, and you’re just not going to be quite as effective," the magazine cites George Barros (ISW).
The Telegraph notes that the capture of Avdiivka last winter gave the Russians a temporary advantage. However, the pace of advance has slowed: while in November 2023, Moscow advanced by 730.5 km², in March it advanced by only 143 km².
"As we expected, Russian gains have slowed as they approached more built-up areas, like Pokrovsk, and their casualty rates have continued to be very, very high. Russia has repeatedly shown that they’ll continue to accept that type of strategy – high losses in exchange for slow gains," a senior Nato official said.
At the same time, Ukrainian troops are conducting local counterattacks and holding their positions, especially in the Pokrovsk and Toretsk sectors. Drones are used not only for reconnaissance, but also for the delivery of ammunition, often in combination with artillery.
"Drones are responsible for over 60 per cent of the daily Russian Federation casualties at this point, and are the principal means of stopping attacks in combination with mining, and traditional artillery," Michael Kofman, a senior analyst at the Carnegie Endowment, noted.
Some Ukrainian units, such as the 59th Air Assault Brigade report that 85 per cent of the losses inflicted by its men were with unmanned systems.
Barros adds that drone attacks sometimes destroy equipment up to 10 km from the front, forcing Russian soldiers to advance on foot.
Despite the losses, Putin continues to push, trying to gain maximum territorial advantage ahead of possible peace talks. He signed a decree to draft another 160,000 troops, a record for the last 14 years. However, analysts doubt that Russia will be able to break through the Ukrainian defences.
