Every day since the escalation of Russia’s war of aggression on Ukraine in February 2022, the UK Ministry of Defense has published its assessment of the situation in the conflict. On September 18, 2023, it is about WDV air units.
Via the Network X writes the UK Ministry of Defense: “Over the past two weeks, Russia has likely further reinforced the hard-hit 58th Army with additional WDV airborne units on the Orikhiv axis in Zaporizhzhya Oblast. At least five WDV regiments of the 7th and 76th Divisions are now likely concentrated within several kilometers of the front-line village of Robotyne. At full strength, such a force should include about 10,000 elite paratroopers. However, almost all units are most likely dramatically undermanned.”
The British Ministry of Defense concludes, “The present situation is likely to be found extremely unsatisfactory by the VDV hierarchy. Throughout the war, Russian commanders have sought to regenerate airborne troops as highly mobile, hard-hitting forces for offensive operations. Once again, they are being used as line infantry to reinforce overburdened ground forces.”
In Russia, due updates from London are considered propaganda.
Image: Kremlin.ru, Vladimir Putin (2022-12-16), CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (image size modified)