Providing Ukraine with long-range ATACMS missiles (due in one of the expected US aid packages) in significant quantities would appear to help the defenders deplete the invaders' logistics, creating threats to enemy air bases in the deep rear of the Russian Federation.
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About the fact that with a long delay in the shipment of the above-described type of ammunition from the Pentagon, Putin’s army, it seems, will get additional time to try to reduce the potential operational potential of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, writes NBN, citing the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). p>
According to the ISW report, modifications of ATACMS missiles equipped with cluster munitions will give the Defense Forces the opportunity to carry out more effective attacks on Russian airfields, instead of individual missile attacks on small aircraft, forcing the Russian occupation forces to move aircraft further away from advanced. Although such a “retreat” of the enemy, apparently, will affect mainly helicopters, and not all Russian tactical aircraft, which have a much higher range.
In particular, the “liberators” often effectively used helicopters to repel Ukrainian mechanized attacks during the Ukrainian counter-offensive on Zaporozhye in the summer of 2023. However, already now the “second army of the world” is using fewer helicopters to support its offensive in the eastern regions of Ukraine.
Thus, ATACMS missiles will help Ukraine increase the degree of threat to Russian ammunition depots in rear areas, for example , as it happened in October last year, when the Ukrainian army attacked identical objects of the occupiers. However, Putin’s troops could prepare for a repeat of such attacks by strengthening/deploying warehouses along the entire perimeter of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
ISW analysts added—Ukrainian attacks on the logistics of the Russian Federation or enemy bases aviation in the deep rear areas will likely have a significant operational impact, however, only if they are successfully coordinated with ground operations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to take advantage of Russia's degraded capabilities after these attacks.
We have previously written about that the ISW explained what was behind the detention of Shoigu’s deputy, pointing out the consequences of his arrest.