‘This is a very difficult operation’ Kremlin spokesperson tells Bosnian Serb TV; Institute for the Study of War says Russia constrained by ‘pervasive issues’ with combat capability
Moscow’s forces in Bakhmut are constrained by “pervasive issues with Russian combat capability”, the Institute for the Study of War, a US thinktank, has warned. “Continued attritional assaults” by Ukraine are futher limiting Russia’s progress in the city, the ISW said.
On Wednesday a Ukrainian military unit said it had routed a Russian infantry brigade from frontline territory near Bakhmut, claiming to corroborate an account by the head of Russia’s Wagner group that the Russian forces had fled.
Pervasive issues with Russian combat capability, exacerbated by continued attritional assaults in the Bakhmut area, are likely considerably constraining the ability of Russian forces in this area to defend against localized Ukrainian counterattacks. […] Issues with the ad hoc commitment of various depleted force groupings to the Bakhmut axis, alongside apparent command and control failures, are likely preventing Russian forces in the area from conducting sound defensive operations.