Russia turns to old tanks as it burns through weapons in Ukraine, European officials say
Russia is scraping across the country to find manpower and weapons, including old tanks based in the Far East, having used up much of its military capacity in the first 100 days of its invasion of Ukraine, according to senior European officials with knowledge of the situation on the ground.
As a result, Russia may be only a few months from needing to slow operations for a major regroup, these people said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss matters that aren’t public.
The Kremlin might also be forced to announce a mass mobilisation in order to call up soldiers to continue the fight, the people said, though that’s something President Vladimir Putin so far has been reluctant to do as it would amount to a public admission the war isn’t going as planned.
Russia’s troubles may not come soon enough to provide relief to Ukraine’s beleaguered forces in the eastern Donbas area. Massively outgunned by Moscow, Kyiv’s forces are losing 100 or more a day, Ukrainian officials say, and have had to slowly give up ground around the cities of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk.
If Russia takes those two – particularly the more strategic city of Lysychansk still under greater Ukrainian control – it would effectively seize the entire Luhansk region, achieving one of the goals Putin set out at the start of the war.
But Russia’s progress remains slow and mostly limited to Luhansk even after it focused efforts on the larger Donbas following the failure of its attempts to take Kyiv and other major cities early in the war.
Combined with signs the Kremlin could be running short of men and materiel, that’s led some European officials to conclude it could be months from seeking some kind of a ceasefire that would allow it to cement what gains it’s been able to make so far.
“Russia probably needs at least another two to three months to take big towns in Donbas, such as Slovyansk and Kramatorsk,” according to Indrek Kannik, director of Estonia’s International Centre for Defence and Security. “That’s when Russia will reach its capacity and will push for a deal on that basis.” [Continue reading…]
Russian authorities have gone all out to tighten their grip on cities taken over by Putin’s troops in eastern Ukraine, but ordinary citizens are fighting back—with arson attacks and poisoned fruit.
The latest surprise for Russian troops came in Melitopol, where Mayor Ivan Fyodorov said local farmers had caused “mass illness” among Russians by poisoning cherries.
“Our farmers prepared another gift for the [Russians]—recently treated sweet cherries, which caused mass illness among those who stole them from the farmers. It’s the latest kind of partisan resistance on the territory of Melitopol,” Fyodorov told local reporters on Thursday.
He said pro-Ukrainian sentiment remains strong in the city, despite Russian authorities portraying themselves as saviors who “rescued” residents from Ukraine. [Continue reading…]