Russia's struggle to sustain effective offensive becoming 'increasingly acute': UK MoD

Amid the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the UK Defence Ministry has released its latest intelligence report about the situation in the war-torn nation. The British MoD stated that Russian forces have "struggled" to sustain effective combat since the onset of the war and stressed that the issue is becoming "increasingly acute". It underscored that Russian forces have been dealing with a "severe" shortage of personnel and they have been facing a dilemma in deploying reserves in Donbass or defending against counterattacks of Ukrainian troops in the southwestern Kherson region. 

"Russia has struggled to sustain effective offensive combat power since the start of the invasion and this problem is likely becoming increasingly acute. As well as dealing with severe under-manning, Russian planners face a dilemma between deploying reserves to the Donbas or defending against Ukrainian counterattacks in the southwestern Kherson sector," the UK Defence Ministry said in the intelligence update. 

Notably, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pledged to take back all the regions occupied by Russian forces. According to UK Defence Ministry, Russian forces aim to capture the whole of Donetsk. It further revealed that the Russian forces might make territorial gains but their operational tempo and advancing rate continue to be "very slow" without making a significant halt for reorganisation, adding that six separate armies have been deployed for Russian forces in the offensive carried out in Donbass. Before launching the attack on Ukraine, the military personnel in the formation of Russian forces were around 150,000 and the forces now have a company-sized grouping of around 100 troops who carry out an offensive in any region. 

Russian forces face significant logistical losses: Zelenskyy 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has asserted that the Russian forces have faced significant logistical losses due to the armed forces of Ukraine. In his nightly video address on 18 July, Zelenskyy stated that Russian forces facing issues holding positions in the occupied parts. He said that the Ukrainian armed forces continue to advance, and halt the supplies of Russian troops. Furthermore, Zelenskyy stressed that Ukrainian troops have been working to identify and neutralize collaborators. According to him, the armed forces of Ukraine have been able to liberate 1028 settlements from Russian forces. He further stated that Russian troops continue to occupy 2021 settlements in Ukraine. The Ukrainian President further accused Russian forces of disseminating lies about Ukraine and their actions in captured regions. He underscored that despite the actions of Russia, people in occupied regions showcase what they seek. 

"The Armed Forces of our state managed to inflict significant logistical losses on the invaders. It is increasingly difficult for the Russian army to hold positions on the captured territory. Step by step, we advance, disrupt supplies for the occupiers, identify and neutralize collaborators," Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in the video address. 

Image: AP