Russia Ineptly Uses Tanks In Ukraine, As During War In Chechnya - British Intelligence

The war in Ukraine showed numerous failures of Russian commanders in ensuring combat discipline at the grassroots level. One such example is the use of dynamic tank protection.

This was reported by the British Ministry of Defense on Twitter in a daily report.

"The cumulative effect of these failures is likely to be an important factor in the low effectiveness of the Russian armed forces," the report said.

As British intelligence points out, the heavy wear and tear on Russian main battle tanks in Ukraine is partly due to Russia's failure to install and properly employ adequate dynamic armor (ERA). This suggests that Russian forces have not corrected a culture of ineffective use of ERA that dates back to the First Chechen War in 1994.

When used correctly, dynamic protection reduces the effectiveness of approaching projectiles before they hit the tank. It is quite likely that many Russian tankers lack training to support dynamic protection, which leads to either a poor fit of explosive elements, or to its complete absence, the message emphasizes.

"These shortcomings probably contribute to the widespread cases of tower ejections, which are well documented on video by eyewitnesses from Ukraine," the report says.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the losses of Russian troops on August 16 increased by 200 to 44,100 killed, and the Ukrainian military also destroyed 6 tanks and 4 artillery systems in the previous day.

On August 17, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov announced that the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed 30% of the elite corps of the Russian army during the war.