Vladimir Putin’s forces have been losing a battalion’s worth of armoured vehicles every day in the face of Ukrainian offensives, according to UK defence chiefs.
They also say Russian soldiers are being forced to serve in ageing infantry combat vehicles which the troops describe as “aluminium cans”.
The latest intelligence assessment comes as fresh Russian attacks were reported across large parts of Ukraine on Thursday.
Heavy shelling damaged power supplies to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, once disconnecting the facility - the largest of its kind in Europe - from the grid.
Russian strikes were also reported in Kriviy Rih, in central Ukraine, and in Sumy and Kharkiv, in the northeast. Heavy fighting was ongoing in the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.
“The enemy is trying to keep the temporarily captured territories, concentrating its efforts on restraining the actions of the Defence Forces in certain areas,” Ukraine’s general staff said on Thursday.
Russia has said it targeted infrastructure as part of what it calls its “special military operation” to degrade the Ukrainian military and remove what it says is a potential threat against Russia’s security.
As a result, Ukrainian civilians have endured power cuts and reduced water supplies in recent weeks. Russia denies targeting civilians, though the Putin’s invasion launched on February 24 has killed thousands, displaced millions and left some Ukrainian cities in ruins.
It has also inflicted huge losses on the Russian military with Kyiv estimating some 73,000 of Putin’s troops have been killed, although Moscow claims the figure is far lower.
In its latest update, the UK Ministry of Defence claimed Russian armoured vehicle losses increased to over 40 a day as Ukrainian forces continued its counteroffensives in the east and south of the country.
It said: “Russian soldiers serving in Ukraine are likely frustrated that they are forced to serve in old infantry combat vehicles which they describe as aluminium cans.
“In mid-October, in the face of Ukrainian offensives, Russian armoured vehicles losses increased to over 40 a day: roughly equivalent to a battalion’s worth of equipment.
“In recent weeks Russia has likely resorted to acquiring at least 100 additional tanks and infantry fighting vehicles from Belarussian stocks.
“Armoured units and artillery are central to Russia’s way of war; the force in Ukraine is now struggling partially due to difficulties in sourcing both artillery ammunition and sufficient serviceable replacement armoured vehicles.”
Britain, the US, Ukraine and its allies are fighting an information war against Russia so their briefings need to be treated with caution and are often one-sided.
But they are far more believable than the propaganda issued by the Kremlin, including denials of military targeting of civilian areas and of war crimes having been committed by Russian troops.
