Ukraine seizes strategic initiative, - Estonian Defense Ministry
Ukraine has strengthened its position by launching strikes deep into Russia and destroying air defense systems.
According to Censor.NET, citing ERR, this was stated by Gert Kaju, head of the Defense Readiness Department at the Estonian Ministry of Defense.
Increased effectiveness of strikes against Russian air defenses
He cited statistics showing an increase in the effectiveness of strikes against Russian air defense systems. According to him, 21 air defense systems were destroyed in January, 25 in February, and 41 in March, including early-warning radar stations.
"The current trend suggests that this will continue at the same pace in April," said Kaju.
At the same time, reports are emerging on Russian social media about a shortage of ammunition for air defense systems. Kaju emphasized that without adequate supplies, even modern weapon systems effectively lose their effectiveness.
Ukraine is seizing the strategic initiative
"Overall, it can be said that in the 215th week of the war, Ukraine is seizing the initiative at the strategic level precisely because of its campaigns of strikes deep into Russian territory," Kaju said.
He singled out as particularly noteworthy the systematic campaign of precision strikes carried out by the Ukrainians last week, which targeted both Russian military objectives and facilities supporting the war effort.
Strikes were carried out against key Russian energy export hubs in the Baltic and Black Seas, as well as against military and chemical industrial complexes. Kaju cited as examples chemical plants in the Voronezh region that produce explosives and key components of ammunition for the Russian army, as well as chemical plants in the Samara region and various oil refineries.
"This has resulted, on the one hand, in a decline in ammunition production, and on the other, in an impact on society as a whole—for example, it has led to a reduction in supplies of various types of fuel, particularly gasoline," said Kaju.
Disruption of the Russian Federation's offensive preparations
At the same time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been successfully dispersing concentrations of Russian troops preparing for future offensive operations, and they are able to do so deeper and deeper into enemy-controlled territory.
"As a result, the Russian armed forces are unable to mount effective offensive operations—they are attacked before they can muster a large enough force for an attack or offensive operations," he said.
"The primary targets Ukraine struck in the combat zone at this level throughout April were, first and foremost, the enemy’s communications systems and unmanned aerial vehicles, their launch sites, as well as long-range weapon systems and logistical support elements, including various warehouse complexes," Kaju said.
Ukraine is able to inflict increasingly significant losses on the enemy deep within the territory it controls, and as a result, Russian military losses remain at a rate of 1,100 soldiers per day. These losses include both those killed and those wounded.
"The important thing is that these losses occur largely before the enemy even reaches the front line," said Kaju.
He added that, despite the high number of combat engagements last week (about 170 per day), Russia failed to make any gains on any of the operational fronts.
