New York Times report: Russia has learned from its costly mistakes and changed its military tactics in Ukraine

a statement a report The New York Times reported that the battles taking place in Ukraine proved that the Russian forces had changed their military plans, and showed a “high level of skill” in fighting and using new equipment.

The report indicated that Russia had controlled Ukrainian regions from the beginning thanks to the large firepower it had, but interviews with 17 Ukrainian soldiers, Russian prisoners of war, foreign officers and fighters, and Western officials, as well as access to documents and videos; She emphasized that the gains in recent months – especially in Bakhmut – were made due to new “adjustments” that included Russian military tactics.

Defensive adjustments

The report stated that Russian armored vehicles – for example – no longer rush into areas where they could be subject to destruction, and Russian forces have become more dependent on drones and reconnaissance attacks to find Ukrainian trenches before bombing them.

In addition – as the New York Times report shows – prison inmates became part of military operations, as they emerged in Bakhmut mainly within Wagner, and Russian forces improved their defensive lines, artillery coordination, and air support operations.

The Ukrainian soldiers also explained that the Russian trenches have repeatedly proven to be better than their Ukrainian counterparts, and are too deep to be detected by marches. The newspaper quoted Western officials as saying that these “improvements” will likely make Russia tougher during the fighting in the coming period, taking advantage of its strengths on the battlefield, stressing that this defensive shift is far from the initial plan with which Russia began the invasion of Ukraine.

Ukraine too

According to the report, the start of the long-awaited Ukrainian counterattack showed that Ukraine is well-armed, supported by advanced communications technology, along with American and European weapons.

The report indicated that American officials admit that Russian military plans have improved, but they confirmed that there are other details that explain what is going on, including, for example, that the success in the Battle of Bakhmut is due – basically – to Wagner throwing prisoners to the battlefields regardless of human losses, and that is what confirmed by intelligence reports.

The data also confirms that the Russian forces currently lack enough tanks to coordinate an effective artillery attack, in addition to their lack of intelligence information about the Ukrainian trenches, for example.

It quoted a Ukrainian soldier as saying that during one of the attacks on the trench in which he was located, he was able to stop the Russian attack almost on his own, and commented on that by saying, “They did everything perfectly, but their attack did not succeed. It was clear that they did not have enough information, as It always is.”

Return to Bakhmut

Even in Bakhmut – according to the New York Times report – the Ukrainian forces succeeded in controlling lands there in recent days, and took a high place for them, while Russia exhausted its human energies to defend the city, and the Russian army began using the “Wagner” strategy to bring former prisoners to participate in Digging trenches, as confirmed by a recently captured Russian soldier, a former prisoner.

The New York Times quoted a US official as saying that Russia’s “defense improvements” will pose enormous challenges for Ukraine, and it is too early to judge the Ukrainian army’s ability to overcome them, especially since Russia has shown determination to continue fighting despite months of losses and setbacks.