Russian air power ‘a key factor’ in recent Donbas advances
Russia’s inability to suppress and destroy Ukraine’s strategic anti-aircraft systems left its ground troops without the tactical air support it needed for a successful assault on Kyiv in the first weeks of the invasion.
“Consequently, Russian air activity has been largely restricted to deep strikes using air and surface-launched cruise missiles to disrupt the movement of Ukrainian reinforcements and supplies,” UK MoD assessment reads.
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“These strikes alone however have failed to have a meaningful impact on the conflict, and Russian stocks of precisions guided missiles are likely to have been significantly depleted as a result.”
After it switched its focus to the Donbas, Russian managed to utilize its overwhelming firepower by combining airstrikes with artillery fire.
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“The combined use of air and artillery strikes has been a key factor in Russia’s recent tactical successes in the region; the increased use of unguided munitions has led to the widespread destruction of built-up areas in Donbas, and has almost certainly caused substantial collateral damage and civilian casualties.”
