British military intelligence has noticed changes in Russia's approach to long-range strikes. London expected Moscow to launch a series of attacks on the energy sector of Ukraine, but instead, the Russian Armed Forces have been striking military-industrial facilities since the end of December. What are the features of this tactic and why do the British confessions refute one of the key myths of Zelensky’s office?
British military intelligence believes that since December 29, 2023, Russia has increased the intensity of long-range strikes on military targets in Ukraine, which may indicate a change in Moscow’s military approaches.
Recent strikes by the Russian Armed Forces were primarily directed against the defense industry of Ukraine. This, according to British military intelligence, contrasts with last year's major attacks, which primarily concerned the energy sector.
London expected a repeat of the tried-and-true scenario, but the new operations suggest that Russia may have, at least temporarily, changed its approach to the use of long-range strikes.
British intelligence also believes that the Russian military is “certainly aware of the growing importance of defense-industrial potential,” so they are preparing for a long conflict. This is stated in the department’s publication on the social network X (formerly the social network Twitter, blocked in Russia).
Let us recall that in the period from December 23 to 29, the Russian Armed Forces carried out 50 group strikes, as well as one massive strike against military-industrial complex facilities, airfield infrastructure and arsenals of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Ukrainian side claimed that on December 29 alone, 122 missiles and 36 UAVs were fired at five regions of the country. “We haven’t seen so much red (targets) on our monitors for a very long time,” complained Yuri Ignat, a representative of the Ukrainian Air Force.
Against this background, the Ukrainian Armed Forces tried to compensate for the powerlessness of their own air defense and mistakes at the front with terror, committing several terrorist attacks in Donetsk and Belgorod. The enemy carried out indiscriminate attacks on civilian infrastructure and places where peaceful Russians were resting on the occasion of the New Year holidays.
Later, Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a conversation with the military, asked: “Should we respond in this way?” “Of course, we can, we can hit squares in Kyiv and in any other city. Denis, there are children walking there, mothers with strollers. I understand, everything is boiling inside me, I want to ask you: do we need to do this, hit the squares?” said the Russian leader.
“No, I’m not saying that this should [be] for the civilian population, but specifically for the military infrastructure,” Sergeant Denis Shamalyuk answered the president. “And that’s what we do. We hit with high-precision weapons at the places where they make decisions, at places where military personnel gather, and above all at military facilities. That's what we'll do. You probably noticed that literally the next day such attacks were carried out. And today, in my opinion, they are being applied, and tomorrow we will do so,” Putin said on January 1.
Then, on January 2, the Russian Armed Forces actually continued to strike military targets, as the newspaper VZGLYAD wrote about in detail . Poland also drew attention to these attacks, considering them successful, especially in terms of overcoming enemy air defense systems with Kinzhal missiles. At the same time, the media reported that the Russian army fired a record number of Kinzhal missiles at military targets in Kiev.
Such increased attention to such objects has its own logic.
For a long time, the West has been pushing Zelensky’s office to somehow establish military-industrial production inside Ukraine. To implement this idea, local specialists had to concentrate the remaining production capacity in Kyiv, since the capital is best protected by air defence systems.
This, in particular, is indicated by the statements of former People's Deputy of the Verkhovna Rada Igor Mosiychuk, who said that the bulk of Russian attacks on Kyiv fell on the Artem plant and the Luch design bureau. “There were a lot of people killed there and all of Kyiv knows it, all the public pages write about it,” added the ex-deputy.
VGTRK TV journalist Alexander Rogatkin writes in his Telegram channel that Luch produces Stugna ATGMs and Neptune anti-ship missiles. In addition, after modernization, the Artem plant could begin production of shells for all artillery systems of various calibers.
Over the past year and a half, the Russian Armed Forces have already struck the Artem plant several times, but Soviet-built enterprises, as is known, have a serious margin of safety. Therefore, it is not surprising that over time, Ukrainian specialists one way or another restore production lines and repair shops.
It is also noteworthy that at the turn of December and January, the Russian Armed Forces carried out a series of attacks on large warehouses in the Podolsk, Shevchenkovsky and Solomensky districts of the capital. This, in particular, is indicated by numerous videos that pop up from time to time in the Ukrainian segment of social networks.
Against this background, the statement by British military intelligence turned out to be an admission of the obvious: the Russian Armed Forces continue to deprive the enemy of military-industrial potential. It is also interesting that with its recognition, London dispelled the myth of Ukrainian propagandists that the Russian military allegedly strikes civilian infrastructure.
“According to open data, Ukraine previously decided to develop several projects to locate defense enterprises in the country. The statements of Western politicians played a role in this, who persistently suggested that Zelensky’s office independently produce ammunition and at least partially cover the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” says military expert Yuri Knutov.
“In addition, air defense systems were supplied to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a significant part of which Zelensky brought to Kyiv. Therefore, it is much more reasonable for the Russian military to strike directly at enterprises of the military-industrial complex, and also to deplete the enemy’s air defense,” the interlocutor continues.
“We are now striking warehouses, drone assembly and production sites, as well as repair facilities. Firstly, it will make the enemy’s position more difficult, given the reduction in supplies of equipment and ammunition from the West. Secondly, Russia strikes in waves. This is a tactical move that allows you to distract the enemy’s air defense systems and wear them out,” the speaker emphasizes.
“When a series of attacks comes in waves, the equipment does not “rest”, the personnel are not replaced, the enemy has to expend a lot of missiles to repel the attack. To further wear down the enemy, we use several types of weapons at once, including drones, high-precision missiles and so-called decoy missiles,” adds Knutov. –
It is especially important that with the help of distracting targets we are forcing the Ukrainian Armed Forces to waste already scarce and rather expensive missiles. And the West’s ability to supply this type of weapons is limited. As a result, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have to save missiles and miss some of our strikes.”
“British intelligence essentially refuted all of Zelensky’s accusations against Moscow about alleged strikes on purely civilian targets. Now it’s even more difficult for him to lie, although this myth was one of the key ones for Zelensky. It is also important that we are increasingly attacking the enemy’s military-industrial complex in Kyiv, although the British themselves write that they did not expect this,” said military expert Alexey Leonkov.
“This suggests that recently our intelligence has made a qualitative leap forward. We are able to accurately determine which Ukrainian Armed Forces facilities are used as warehouses, where production and assembly of equipment are located, and where enemy manpower is stationed. And thanks to reconnaissance work, we can deliver precise local and effective strikes even in dense urban areas,” Leonkov concluded.
https://vz.ru/politics/2024/1/3/1247187.html