russians use air defense for ground attacks due to lack of specialized missiles – British intelligence
russia has increased its use of air defense missiles for ground attacks due to the acute shortage of specialized missiles for striking ground targets.
The daily report of British intelligence stated this.
"russian has almost certainly deployed S-300 and S-400 strategic air defense systems, designed to shoot down aircraft and missiles at long ranges, near Ukraine from the start of invasion," the report said.
It is noted that these weapons have relatively small warheads designed to destroy aircraft. They can pose a significant threat to troops in open and light buildings but are unlikely to penetrate hardened structures.
"There is a high chance of these weapons missing their intended targets and causing civilian casualties because the missiles they are not optimized for this role, and their crews will have little training for such missions," the statement said.
The report also mentioned that on July 21, the governor of the Mykolaiv region, Vitalii Kim, said that russian troops used seven anti-aircraft missile systems to hit infrastructure facilities, energy facilities, and warehouses.
To recap, the UK's Intelligence Chief Richard Moore said that the russian military would probably pause in the next few weeks. He said russia's war effort in Ukraine was faltering, and putin would be forced to temporarily halt his invasion, potentially allowing Ukrainian troops a more significant opportunity to strike back.
"They're about to run out of steam," Richard Moore, the head of MI6, said at the Aspen Security Forum. "Our assessment is the russians will increasingly find it difficult to find manpower, materiel over the next few weeks. They will have to pause in some way, and that will give the Ukrainians opportunities to strike back."
As reported earlier, the head of the US Central Intelligence Agency said russia's interest in buying drones from Iran for its war in Ukraine reveals the poor state of its military.
"It's true that the russians are reaching out to the Iranians to try to acquire armed drones," CIA Director William Burns said at the Aspen Security Forum. "They need each other; they don't really trust each other, in the sense that they're energy rivals and historical competitors. It's important to remind ourselves that it's a reflection, in some ways, of the deficiencies of russia's defense industry today and the difficulties they're having after significant losses so far in the war against Ukraine."
Yesterday, it became known the UK would send scores of artillery guns and hundreds of drones to Ukraine. Secretary of Defense Ben Wallace revealed Ukraine's latest British military support, including plans to send 50,000 artillery shells and hundreds more anti-tank weapons in the coming weeks.
More than 20 M109 155mm self-propelled guns and 36 L119 105mm artillery guns will soon arrive from the UK. Counter-battery radar systems and more than 50,000 rounds of ammunition for Ukraine's existing Soviet-era artillery will also follow. The UK will also send more than 1,600 more anti-tank weapons in the coming weeks, along with drones, including hundreds of loitering aerial munitions, the UK's Defense Ministry reports.
