- Ukraine struck three ammunition depots deep inside Russia this month, causing significant damage.
- According to UK intel, the strikes caused the largest loss of Russian and North Korean ammo in the war.
- The UK Ministry of Defence said Russia has struggled to stop strikes like this despite its defenses.
Recent Ukrainian strikes on Russian arms depots caused the largest loss of Russian and North Korean ammunition recorded so far in the Ukraine war, according to British intelligence.
The UK’s Ministry of Defence made the assessment on Sunday, citing satellite images showing the aftermath of strikes on three Russian ammunition depots in the Tver and Krasnodar Krai regions in September.
“The total tonnage of ammunition destroyed across the three sites represents the largest loss of Russian and North Korean-supplied ammunition during the war,” the MOD said.
It said that the “major” strikes in close succession showed that Russia is still struggling against Ukrainian drones used in deep-strike operations inside Russia.
This is despite the country’s deployment of a robust layered air defense posture, including fighter jets, it added.
“It is highly likely that it will force further dispersals in the Russian logistics chain for fear of additional strikes, increasing the burden on an already stretched system,” the UK MOD said.
The losses came despite restrictions on the weapons Ukraine can use to strike targets inside Russia
Ukraine has to rely on domestically produced drones and long-range weapons to strike targets deep inside Russia, as it has been barred from using Western-provided long-range missiles to go after strategic targets there.
The Pentagon justified the US decision not to allow such strikes earlier this month, saying that 90% of Russian aircraft launching glide bombs are out of range of Ukraine’s ATACMS, and also cited the potential for an escalation in the conflict.
Pressure, however, is building. Last month, Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said EU countries should lift restrictions on the use of weaponry against Russian military targets “in accordance with international law.”
Several top House Republicans signed a letter on September 9 urging President Joe Biden to lift the remaining restrictions on US-provided long-range systems, including the ATACMS, against “legitimate” military targets deeper inside Russia.
Last week, war experts from the Institute for the Study of War said that Western restrictions barring Ukraine from firing Western-supplied weapons into Russia had given Russian command the “flexibility” to avoid protecting its rear and to marshal supplies to attack Ukraine at scale there.
It said this in the context of Ukraine’s successful strikes on the three ammo depots.
In a separate update on Friday, the ISW said even a small number of effective long-range Ukrainian strikes could have asymmetric impact and force Russian forces to relocate important military and storage facilities farther from the front lines, complicating Russian logistics.
