UK: Russia may launch more artillery strikes in Donbas

Russian troops may resort to even more frequent artillery bombardments.

They do not want to risk losing combat aircraft outside their front line, while also trying to relaunch the offensive in Donbas, Caliber.Az informs, citing an intelligence report of the UK Defence Ministry published on Twitter.

"In the Chernihiv region north of Kyiv, approximately 3,500 buildings were destroyed or damaged during Russia's abandoned attempt to advance towards the Ukrainian capital. Some 80 per cent of the damage was inflicted to residential buildings," the Twitter post noted.

The report reads that the scale of this damage indicates Russia's readiness to use artillery against populated areas.

"Russia has likely resorted to an increasing reliance on indiscriminate artillery bombardment due to limited target detection capabilities and an unwillingness to run the risk of a regular flying by combat aircraft outside its front lines. Therefore, in the coming weeks, the Russian Federation is likely to continue to rely heavily on massive artillery strikes in an attempt to restore the pace of its advance in the Donbas," the intelligence said.

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 17 May 2022

Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/GwwPZ9lX8D

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— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) May 17, 2022