Russia today no longer has the “elite infantry units” it once relied on, according to the U.S.-based think tank Institute for the Study of War. That reports The Kyiv Independent.
According to ISW, in recent months the Russian military has moved elite airborne units to regions where Ukrainian counteroffensives are concentrated. ISW cites an elite airborne unit that was moved to Robotyne on August 27.
According to ISW’s assessment, these frequent redeployments of units indicate that their capacity is declining. “The decline of these forces is likely to weaken Russia’s ability to sustain complex defensive operations and almost certainly defeat any Russian intention to resume large-scale offensive operations,” ISW writes. Such operations have so far depended largely on the “elite infantry that Russia now lacks.”
The Institute fort he Study of War is a U.S.-based think tank that conducts research and analysis in the area of foreign and defense policy.
Image: Presidential Executive Office of Russia, Visit to joint staff of military branches involved in special military operation 04, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (image size modified)
