The War in Ukraine

[GR66]

Reports from one blogger [insert grain of salt] that the Ukrainians have severed supply lines supporting 3,000 Russian troops in the Kursk region. Interesting if true as my understanding is that a notable portion of the Russian forces defending Kursk are conscripts vs. contract fighters which could have an outsized moral effect should they be killed/captured.

Ukrainian troops sever Russian supply lines in Kursk region

The Ukrainian military has successfully disrupted enemy logistics in the Kursk region of Russia, according to volunteer and blogger Serhiy Sternenko. This operation has involved cutting off and encircling a Russian grouping estimated to consist of 3,000 troops, effectively isolating them in the...

defence-blog.com

 

[GR66]

Ukrainian volunteer groups supplying drones to take out Russian ISR UAV's...and apparently being successful.

Volunteer-backed drones take out over 100 Russian spy unmanned aircraft

Ukrainian interception drones have shot down more than a hundred Russian reconnaissance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) in the past few weeks, according to volunteer and blogger Serhiy Sternenko. These drones, modified for air interception and funded by donors as part of an improvised air defense...

defence-blog.com

We're seeing a constant and rapid evolution of UAV warfare in Ukraine. No idea where this will ultimately end up, but the key takeaway to me is that we can't just take a snapshot of what's happening in Ukraine at any given moment and adopt the types of UAV's that suit that particular situation. We need to create a structure (and supply chain) that can create an flexible capability that can adapt to rapid changes on the battlefield.

As a related note, on a recent episode of The Irregular Warfare podcast there was an observation by Dr. Jack Watling from RUSI that from his observations in Ukraine the most effective use of UAVs is coming from specialized units that are deployed forward to support specific objectives rather than embedded UAV units within units. Something to think about when drawing up our napkin force structures.