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Ladimir Putin’s air force has suffered numerous casualties after being launched into more suitable battles for heavier armored infantry units, British defense chiefs said on Thursday.
They stressed that the VDV elite, Russia’s air force, had been implicated in a series of “tactical flaws” in Putin’s war in Ukraine that began just over three months ago.
They include having to withdraw after seizing a key airport near Kyiv, as the Russian president tried to seize the Ukrainian capital a few days after launching his invasion on February 24.
UK defense chiefs said the VDV’s disappointing performance showed Putin’s army was an “unbalanced general force”.
They also claimed that “complacency” among Russian commanders was partly to blame for the heavy losses in many of their elite units.
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In its latest intelligence briefing, the London Ministry of Defense said: “Russia’s air force, the VDV, has been heavily involved in several notable tactical failures since the beginning of the Russian invasion. .
“This includes the attempted advance into Kyiv via Hostomel airfield in March, the stalled progress on the Izium axis since April, and the recent failed and costly crossings of the Siverskyi Donets River.”
He added: “Russian doctrine provides for the assignment of the VDV to some of the most demanding operations. The VDV of 45,000 people consists mainly of professional recruited soldiers. Its members enjoy elite status and attract an additional salary.
“The VDV has been employed on more appropriate missions for heavier armored infantry and has suffered numerous casualties during the campaign. Its mixed performance is likely to reflect a strategic mismanagement of this capability and Russia’s failure to ensure superiority. air “.
Military intelligence chiefs also stressed: “VDV’s poor occupation of Ukraine highlights how Putin’s significant investment in the armed forces over the past 15 years has led to an unbalanced global force.
“The failure to anticipate the Ukrainian resistance and the consequent complacency of the Russian commanders has resulted in significant losses to many of Russia’s most elite units.”
Britain and other Western countries are fighting an information war against Russia over what is happening in Ukraine.
According to Ukrainian authorities, Russian forces are reportedly seizing territory in the eastern Donbas region, at least in localized attacks, after Putin’s generals sent a “insane” number of troops and equipment into battle.
Russian forces have bombed more than 40 cities in the Donbas, the Ukrainian military said, and are now threatening to close the last major escape route for civilians trapped on the road to their offensive in one area.
After failing to seize Kyiv or its second city, Kharkiv, Russia is trying to take full control of the eastern region, made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces, which include Moscow-backed separatist-controlled areas.
Russia has deployed thousands of troops to the region, attacking from three sides in an attempt to encircle Ukrainian forces resisting the city of Sievierodonetsk and its twin Lysychansk. Its fall would leave the entire Luhansk province under Russian control, a key target of the Kremlin war.
“The occupiers bombed more than 40 cities in the Donetsk and Luhansk region, destroying or damaging 47 civilian sites, including 38 houses and a school. As a result of the bombing, five civilians were killed and 12 were injured,” he said. say on Facebook the Joint Task Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The statement said ten enemy attacks were repelled, four tanks and four drones destroyed and 62 “enemy soldiers” were killed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian troops “far outnumber us” in some parts of the east where Putin has reoriented his military campaign following the failure of his lightning invasion plan.
As Moscow seeks to consolidate its control over the territory it has occupied, Putin has signed a decree simplifying the process for residents of newly captured districts to acquire Russian citizenship and passports.
The Russian parliament on Wednesday ruled out a maximum age limit for contract service in the military, so people over the age of 40 can be called in, highlighting the need to replace lost troops.
In a video address in the evening, Mr Zelensky, commenting on the new Russian enlistment rules, said: “They no longer have enough young men, but they still have the will to fight. It will still take time to crush that will.”
The United Kingdom estimates that more than 20,000 Russian soldiers have already died in Putin’s invasion, with tens of thousands of civilians feared to have also died in the often indiscriminate Russian bombing of towns, cities and villages.
Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers are also believed to have died.
Zelensky said this week that the conflict could only end with direct talks between him and Putin.