Russia relying on infantry-led assaults in Ukraine due to equipment losses: ISW

The Russian army is increasingly relying on infantry-led frontline attacks in Ukraine due to a lack of adequately trained personnel and significant military equipment losses, Washington-based think tank Institute of Study of War (ISW) posited on Sunday.

“Continued Russian milblogger discussion of widespread Russian infantry-led frontal assaults highlights the challenges Russia will face in using massed infantry assaults to offset the problems contributing to the current positional warfare identified by Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief General Valerii Zaluzhnyi,” the think tank said.

ISW cited a Russian milblogger as saying: “The Russian practice of conducting tactical assaults intended to storm Ukrainian fortified positions in forest areas of Donbas will not translate into a wider operational breakthrough anywhere on the front.”

It added: “Another milblogger claimed that the Russian military is about to experience a ‘real renaissance of infantry combat’ because there are fewer tanks, infantry fighting vehicles (IFVs), and armored personnel carriers (APCs) close to the frontline.”

The think tank cited a “critical” milblogger as stating that the “infantry renaissance” comment is a “negative reflection of Russian equipment losses and poor frontline coordination that has created a reliance on assault tactics.”

“A Russian Spetsnaz-affiliated Telegram channel additionally complained that the reliance on infantry-led frontal assaults is heavily attriting all Spetsnaz elements that have deployed to Ukraine because the Russian command has reportedly been using Spetsnaz forces for frontal assaults since the beginning of the war,” ISW reported.

The Russian Spetsnaz forces, renowned for their elite training and high efficiency, are the special operations forces of Russian military and intelligence agencies, often deployed in the most challenging and critical missions. They are known for their rigorous training, exceptional skills, and unwavering bravery in the face of adversity.

Additionally, ISW said: “Spetsnaz forces are not meant to conduct such infantry-led assaults like standard Russian motorized rifle infantry, and some Russian sources are clearly frustrated with the ramifications of the misapplication of such Spetsnaz elements.”