ISW: Russians complain about shortage of UAVs, threaten to defect

Russian military personnel continue to detail persistent problems hindering Russian operations along the frontline in Ukraine. 

“The ‘Rusich’ Sabotage and Reconnaissance Group, a far-right Russian irregular paramilitary unit, published a list of various issues on September 8 that it claims are persistent along the frontline,” Caliber.Az reports, citing the latest report released by the Institute for the Study of War.

According to the ISW, Rusich claimed that Russian counterbattery range and accuracy are inferior to Ukrainian capabilities and claimed that Russian forces lack laser-guided Krasnopol shells and UAVs to guide them.

“The reconnaissance team also claimed that the Russian Tornado-S multiple launch rocket system [MLRS] is less resistant to electronic warfare (EW) than Ukraine’s US-provided HIMARS systems. It claimed that Russian forces do not evacuate wounded or dead personnel from frontline areas and that this lack of evacuations has prompted some Russian personnel to refuse to complete combat tasks. The Group may be experiencing these problems at a higher intensity and frequency than Russian forces writ large because it is a small and irregular formation, but ISW has routinely observed other Russian units expressing similar issues with counterbattery capabilities, communications, and evacuations,” the report says.

Key Takeaways:

• Ukrainian forces continued to advance south of Robotyne in western Zaporizhia Oblast and reportedly advanced near Bakhmut on September 10.
• Russian forces conducted a series of Shahed-131/-136 drone strikes targeting Kyiv Oblast on the night of September 9 to 10.
• Russian forces conducted offensive operations along the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line, near Bakhmut, along the Avdiivka-Donetsk City line, in the Donetsk-Zaporizhia Oblast border area, and in western Zaporizhia Oblast and reportedly regained some lost positions in some areas.
• Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) Spokesperson Major General Vadym Skibitskyi stated on September 10 that the Russian military has concentrated over 420,000 military personnel in occupied Ukraine, not including Rosgvardia (Russian national guard) and other military units and structures.