Strikes by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on rear logistics facilities on the territory of russia can significantly increase the operational pressure on the russian army.
This is stated in the russian Offensive Campaign Assessment by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) as of September 18, 2024, the Ukrainian News agency reports.
The report recalled that in the summer of 2022, Ukrainian troops carried out a series of strikes using HIMARS on russian ammunition depots in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, which forced the russian army to disperse its arsenals and reduced the effectiveness of their logistics.
ISW notes that similar strikes by the Defense Forces of Ukraine on ammunition depots on russian territory, like the attack in Toropets, may force the russian command to decide on the reorganization and distribution of support and logistics systems in order to reduce the consequences of such strikes.
"Russian forces may not have addressed vulnerabilities at many logistics facilities within Russia due to the sanctuary space that restrictions on Ukraine's use of Western-provided weapons have generated, although the Toropets facility is not within range of Western systems fired from Ukraine. The lifting of restrictions on the use of Western systems and the continued development of Ukraine's own long-range strike capabilities may allow Ukrainian forces to more effectively exploit such Russian vulnerabilities. Ukrainian forces struck another Russian ammunition depot near Sergeevka, Voronezh Oblast in July 2024 and continued Ukrainian strikes against Russian ammunition and missile storage facilities could also destroy an important portion of Russia's materiel reserves,” the report says.
The Institute is convinced that further strikes by the Ukrainian army on russian warehouses of ammunition and missiles can destroy a significant part of the material reserves of the russians.
"Ukrainian strikes against facilities within Russia could impact offensive operations throughout the theater in Ukraine if Ukrainian forces have the materiel, capabilities, and permission to conduct such a strike campaign against logistics and support facilities within Russia at scale,” ISW analysts state.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, on the night of September 18, the 107th arsenal of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate in the city of Toropets, Tver Oblast, was attacked by Ukrainian drones.
According to available information, the russians stored Iskander-M and KN-23 ballistic missiles near Toropets. There were also ammunition for rocket artillery and mortars.
As a result of the attack, a large-scale fire started in the warehouse, accompanied by frequent detonations of ammunition.
The detonation was so strong that it caused a series of local earthquakes. The strength of the most powerful shock was 2.8 points.
The plume from the fire at the warehouse near Toropets was so large that it was noticed from space.
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