Russia is turning to Iran to try to buy armed drones.
A US-sanctioned merchant ship passed through the Turkish Bosphorus strait en route from Syria to Russia late last month. European intelligence officials who tracked Sparta II say it was carrying military vehicles to support President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine.
The ship’s voyage to the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk underscores the Kremlin’s attempt to tap resources for the invasion now in its sixth month, as supply lines tense under the pressure of the military campaign. Europe’s largest since World War II.
While Ukraine has received billions of dollars in weapons from the US and Europe to help defend itself, Russia must rely on its own resources to support frontline forces amid reports of massive damage. . According to US estimates, tens of thousands of Russian troops were killed or wounded and thousands of armored vehicles destroyed.
An official familiar with the matter said the US government believes Russia used merchant ships to deliver military goods to the Black Sea, consistent with European intelligence reports. The official, who requested anonymity to discuss confidential matters.
Sparta II almost certainly brought military vehicles from the Syrian port of Tartus used by Russia, according to intelligence officials and satellite images from July 17-25 seen by Bloomberg. They said the exact nature of the vehicles was unclear. The ship was seen in Syria with its vehicles in custody, was spotted crossing the Bosphorus and later identified in Novorossiysk with at least 11 potentially unloading vehicles.
Maritime tracking data shows that the ship owned by a company that the US sanctioned in May is controlled by the Russian Defense Ministry made the voyage on those days, apparently unhindered by the success of the Russian Defense Ministry. NATO member is Turkey.
Ankara invoked the Montreux Convention to close the strait to warships shortly after Putin’s 24 February invasion, although commercial shipping could pass through. Russia has used the Oboronlogistika OOO’s cargo ships on the same route on other occasions this year, according to the people. It has transported military cargo several times from Russia to Syria in the past.
A US State Department spokesman referred questions on the matter to the Turkish government. A Turkish official familiar with the matter said a merchant vessel would only be inspected if there were signs of wrongdoing or suspected misconduct. A White House spokesman declined to comment on whether the US had spoken to Turkish officials about the situation. The Kremlin and Oboronlogistika did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
To be sure, Russia has amassed a huge arsenal of weapons under a decades-long modernization program overseen by Putin, and Kremlin officials deny any supply problems. However, US and European officials say the loss of a large number of tanks and armored personnel carriers is forcing Moscow to stockpile older equipment, including the decades-old T-62 tank. age.
Like Russia, Ukraine has not disclosed the size of its military losses even though it has faced logistical challenges against a much larger adversary, especially earlier in the war. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a July 22 interview with the Wall Street Journal that battlefield casualties have fallen to about 30 per day from a peak of 100-200 per day in May-June, one number has not been independently verified.
Putin has deployed troops in Syria since ordering an operation in 2015 to support the now-reputable President Bashar al-Assad. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in 2017 said the military had tested more than 160 advanced weapons there including fighter jets, laser-guided missiles, tanks, electronic warfare and air defense system.
There are indications that the Kremlin has also sought additional sources.
Tensions have flared between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region in recent weeks amid reports denied by Moscow that Russia has cut its peacekeeping force by up to 2,000 troops to send to Ukraine. . In March, the United States said Russia had moved some troops to Ukraine from Georgia’s breakaway region of South Ossetia, where the country has held thousands of troops since fighting in 2008.
CIA Director William Burns told a US security forum last month that Russia is turning to Iran to try to buy armed drones, saying it points to “defects in the industry”. Russia’s defense industry today and the difficulties they are facing after significant losses.”
North Korea could become an unlikely source of new artillery, according to a person familiar with Russia’s defense policy, and last month recognized the Kremlin-controlled Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics. in eastern Ukraine is independent. identified to discuss sensitive issues.
One of the European intelligence officials said Russian shipments from Syria are likely to contribute to the country’s overall logistics because Novorossiysk is used to resupply bases in neighboring Crimea that Putin annexed. entered in 2014, and from there to Kherson and Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine, said one of the European intelligence officials. Russia recently redeployed forces and equipment to the region as Ukraine threatened a counterattack in the Kherson area.
Russia has moved a significant number of troops to Crimea in preparation for deployment in southern Ukraine, and at least eight battalion-level combat groups consisting of 800 to 1,000 troops have been moved from the eastern Donbas region, adding to the pressure on Russia. force on the country’s supply lines, the person said.
Instead of a large-scale attack, Ukraine may be looking to draw Russian forces to the Kherson region, where they would be more vulnerable, said Phillips O’Brien, professor of strategic studies at the University St. Andrews in Scotland, said August 7 on Twitter. “Moreover, the problem of supplying the Russians is much more complicated with rivers, which can cut off bridges and only some heavy rail lines,” he said.
Russia’s ability in long-range, protracted attacks that allowed it to make previous small strides in the Donbas, appears to have been significantly impacted by Ukraine’s logistical attacks (warehouses, railways, etc.). , bridge). It seems the frontline units are receiving a smaller amount of supplies
– Phillips P. OBrien (@PhillipsPOBrien) August 7, 2022
The Pentagon says it has provided $9.1 billion in defense assistance to Ukraine since February, including $1 billion announced Monday to boost supplies of long-range artillery, anti-tank weapons and medical facilities. The government in Kyiv has also received billions of dollars more in weapons from Britain and other allies of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Ukrainian forces using US-supplied HIMARS long-range artillery have recently targeted Russian supply lines and ammunition depots at the rear of the front with increasing effectiveness, as well as critical infrastructure.
“Western arms shipments are allowing Ukraine to attack bridges, which is complicating things further,” said Igor Korotchenko, head of the Moscow-based Center for Analysis of the World Arms Trade. logistics and supplies. “However, artillery and attack aircraft are important weapons in our current offensive and we are not short of any weapons.”
About 80,000 Russian troops have been killed or wounded in the war, US Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kahl said Monday at a regular Pentagon meeting. The US assessment is also that Russia used a significant proportion of precision-guided weapons including air- and sea-launched missiles, and lost up to 4,000 tanks and other armored vehicles, he said.
“A lot of that is due to anti-armor systems like Javelin, like AT4, but also because of the creativity and ingenuity in the way the Ukrainians have used those systems,” he said.
Putin has not sought to bolster his military by ordering mass mobilization, possibly because that would risk forcing the Russian public to face the costs of a war he still keeps within reach. hands with them so far. However, regional officials have introduced cash incentives to encourage people to volunteer for short-term contracts, while the lower house in May abolished the higher age limit for military service. the.
Russian forces withdraw from towns around Kharkiv An American-made Javelin missile on the front line in Kharkiv, Ukraine. Photographer: John Moore / Getty Images Europe
Last month, the Russian government also boosted arms production by seeking powers to relax labor regulations in defense companies, citing “the need to repair weapons and military equipment.” increase in the short term.”
Russian military systems are based on microelectronic components designed and manufactured in the US, Europe and East Asia, according to a new report from the Royal Institute of Joint Services in London, which is based on audits. check the rest of the equipment used in Ukraine.
According to intelligence officials, even as the country seeks to bolster its military on the battlefield, Russian interests in eastern Ukraine have continued to be extremely limited and sluggish in recent days.
Vasily Kashin, a Russian military expert at the Moscow Higher School of Economics, said countries should not underestimate Russia’s resources. However, he said arms imports were still valid, noting that North Korea has long-range multi-launch rocket systems that are “more powerful than those that Russia has”.
“Of course Russia has some problems on the battlefield, but we don’t see any evidence that it imported any weapons for the war against Ukraine,” he said. “However, it might be worth doing.”
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from an aggregated feed.)
