The effective use of drones by the Ukrainian military at the front cannot fully compensate for the shortage of critical ammunition in the entire theater of operations.
This was reported by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said in an interview with BILD published on April 10 that Ukraine is successfully producing UAVs, but they cannot replace air defense systems, long-range missile systems or artillery.
– Ukraine’s ability to repel mechanized attacks with the help of drones is a partial mitigation, but the constant shortage of artillery deprives Ukrainian troops of the opportunity to destroy armored vehicles quickly and in large numbers, – analysts write.
The Armed Forces are forced to redistribute resources
ISW continues to assess that delays in Western military aid are forcing the Defense Forces of Ukraine to economize on logistics.
In addition, experts indicate that Ukrainian forces must make difficult decisions regarding the priority of certain aspects of defense at the cost of human lives and lost territories, as well as at the cost of resisting an initiative to limit Russian military potential or planning future counteroffensive operations.
According to the Institute, the threat of a Russian offensive operation on Kharkiv or Sumy seems to be forcing the Ukrainian military to redistribute its limited forces and resources to the construction of defensive fortifications in these areas, and an active Russian operation to capture these cities would only further strengthen this dynamic.
It is noted that the Russian troops are capable of allocating significant resources in the hope of achieving operationally significant breakthroughs in their chosen areas of the front, and can also exploit areas of the front that were previously vulnerable due to the transfer of Ukrainian troops and material resources.
– Ukrainian troops will most likely not be able to compete with the initiative in the entire theater of operations and more actively distribute their resources, if they do not continue to solve their personnel problems and do not receive additional help from the West, – ISW summarizes.
On the night of April 11, Russian troops launched a combined attack on Ukraine with missiles and attack drones. Air defense forces destroyed 57 out of 82 enemy targets.
