Lessons learned from mistakes: Putin is changing his troops’ war tactics

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Russian President Vladimir Putin (70) dreamed of a quick conquest of Ukraine, but instead a bloody war has been raging for more than a year. The Russian military has repeatedly underestimated Ukraine and paid a heavy price for its mistakes.

But it seems that the behavior of the troops has changed. Putin’s forces operate less chaotically – and that makes them a greater threat.

As the New York Times writes, the Kremlin has adapted its warfare and no longer underestimates the Ukrainian military. “Russian tank columns, for example, are no longer storming areas where they can be quickly damaged or destroyed,” the report said.

Putin is trying to avoid running out of weapons. “Russian tanks, which suffered significant losses in 2022, are now often held back from the front lines to be used as a form of artillery,” it said. This has made Russia a more difficult opponent.

Attacks better coordinated

Instead of blindly attacking enemy forces, costing them lives and equipment, the military is increasingly using drones to find Ukrainian trenches. Only then do they strike.

Many attacks come from the air, in the form of kamikaze drones and glide bombs. In this way, the Russians want to prevent more aircraft from being damaged. Western experts also see this as confirmation of the lack of weapons. However, there is no shortage of kamikaze drones. Because: despite sanctions, Iran continues to supply drones to Russia.

According to the New York Times, U.S. officials and Ukrainian soldiers see an improvement in Russia’s war tactics. “They are trying to locate rear command posts of companies and brigades and destroy them at a great distance to limit communication between units,” says a drone hunter.

Bachmut Conquest cannot be compared to previous battles

The capture of the city of Bakhmut is an example of how the Russian army learned to attack successfully. Wagner mercenaries nearly surrounded Ukrainian fighters. “The Ukrainians just couldn’t keep up,” says one of the fighters. The Wagner group is better trained than the Russian army.

However, many well-trained soldiers also fell. “Today, less well-educated, recently mobilized people are fighting,” the newspaper writes. Therefore, not all problems of the army have been solved. The Kremlin is far from being captured – but the West believes the Russians have become more dangerous to the Ukrainian military. (jwg)

Source: Blick