British intelligence named the main factor in the advance of Russian troops in Donbas
Russian forces increased their use of aircraft to support their offensive in the Donbas. Combined with artillery shelling, this allowed the occupiers to advance slightly in eastern Ukraine.
Such data was made public by the British Ministry of Defense with reference to British intelligence.
The report notes that Russian aviation activity remains high over the territory of Donbas, where heavy fighting is now taking place. In doing so, the occupier’s aircraft are striking with both guided and unguided munitions.
– By shifting its operational focus to Donbas, the Russian Federation increased the use of tactical aviation to support its creeping advance, combining air strikes and massive artillery fire… The combined use of air and artillery strikes has been a critical factor in Russia’s recent tactical successes in the region,” the report said.
The intelligence service specified that the wider use of unguided munitions by Russian troops has led to the widespread destruction of settlements in Donbas. And this has “almost certainly” led to significant losses and civilian casualties.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 4 June 2022
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British intelligence also stressed that at the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia was unable to provide air support to its ground forces, which contributed to the failure of the advance on Kyiv.
– Russia’s inability to suppress or destroy Ukrainian strategic air defense systems in the first days of the war limited its ability to provide tactical air support to ground units, which contributed to the failure of the advance on Kyiv,” the British Defense Ministry recalled.
The ministry added that the air activity of Russian forces was subsequently mostly limited to strikes using air- and ground-based cruise missiles to prevent the movement of Ukrainian reinforcements and supplies.
However, these strikes themselves did not significantly impact the course of the war. At the same time, according to intelligence, Russian stocks of high-precision missiles are likely to have been considerably depleted.
According to the AFU General Staff, Russian troops are now storming the city of Severodonetsk (Luhansk Region) with artillery support. Fighting continues there. At the same time, Ukrainian units forced the occupiers to retreat in the Bakhmut direction.
During the day, Russian troops in Ukraine lost about 100 more soldiers, 9 tanks, and 13 armored fighting vehicles. In total, the Ukrainian army destroyed more than 31,000 personnel of the Russian troops.
Source: UK Ministry of Defense