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ISW: Ukraine strikes valuable military targets in Russian-occupied territory
The Ukrainian counteroffensive's success hitting targets in Russian-occupied territory has undermined the Russian military's combat capabilities, the Institute for the Study of War wrote in its July 22 report.
According to a statement by Southern Operational Command Spokesperson Natalia Humeniuk, Ukrainian troops have complicated Russia's military plans by striking ammunition supplies deep in occupied territory.
"Now the Russians' logistics are suffering," Humeniuk said.
Humeniuk said that the decreased number of shellings in Kherson Oblast over the last day illustrate her point. Russian forces are dealing with "shell hunger," she said.
Ukrainian Colonel Serhiy Baranov said on July 22 that Western high-precision missile and artillery systems helped counteroffensive troops form a "fire fist." Due to the increased power and accuracy of the strikes, "the Russians are no longer able to conduct effective counter-battery combat against us," Baranov said.
The officials' statements indicate that Ukrainian strikes behind enemy lines have proven successful in disrupting Russian military logistics and combat capacities. Ukrainian forces are waging a campaign of asymmetrical attrition in Russian-occupied regions, targeting military equipment and eroding the occupiers' resources.
According to the ISW, this strategy "conserves Ukrainian manpower at the cost of a slower rate of territorial gains while gradually wearing down Russian manpower and equipment."
The ISW reported that Ukrainian forces continued to conduct counteroffensive operations in at least three sectors of the front on July 22.
Alexander Query
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