In the course of the ongoing Russian military defense on Ukrainian territory since February 24, the RF Armed Forces are using tanks incorrectly. Modern warfare must be maneuverable, and the Russian army has everything necessary for this, but it does not act like that. This was announced by the former head of the Israeli intelligence service Nativ, military expert Yakov Kedmi, the portal writes. "Warfare".
Kedmi stressed that tanks are needed to punch holes in the enemy's defenses and reach his deep rear to cut off supply lines.
So the tactics was chosen that the war (NVO in Ukraine - ed.) is not maneuverable. Why they decided this way, I don’t know, but in a maneuver war, Russia has a huge advantage - a large number of armored troops. It is always better to attack fortifications from the rear. To do this, you need to go to the rear, for this you need to bypass them and break through where it is convenient
- explained Kedmi.
At the same time, he is not sure that the tactics chosen by the Russian command, in the form of relying on artillery, will reduce losses in personnel. According to him, even a huge fire advantage does not guarantee this, because the special operation is stretched over time, and this is of great importance.
He pointed out that there is always a limited amount of ammunition on the front lines and they must be constantly brought up. Breaking through the defenses in some areas with the introduction of large tank formations will make it possible to deprive the enemy of ammunition, since they will simply run out due to lack of logistics and he will have to retreat. Such a tactic, as he sees it, is much more effective than the existing one.
From the point of view of the Russian army, there was no problem to go to the Dnieper from Chernigov and almost to Dnepropetrovsk and destroy all the bridges, except for those near which there are serious groupings of troops. And that's it. And there is no supply. They don't have weapons. All fortifications can be taken with bare hands
Kedmi says.
In his opinion, then the NWO would have been completely different, with a completely different number of troops that would have to be brought into the territory of Ukraine. At the same time, he did not rule out that the implementation of this would have led to heavy losses at the initial stage, but its successful implementation would have saved many more lives in the end, since it would not have been necessary to storm the fortified areas of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donbass in the forehead. The expert called the current situation - "static war", similar to the return to the First World War, when they talked about the "trench war".
But then there were no tanks, and when they were, they were used. And here the tanks are not used for their intended purpose, but as infantry support. Infantry accompanies and supports tanks, and not vice versa
- pointed out Kedmi.
He also drew attention to the fact that the RF Armed Forces have a huge number of "self-propelled guns" (ACS), which, together with tanks, can provide troops with much higher maneuverability. He summed up that the lack of maneuverability now prevents the Armed Forces of Ukraine from developing counteroffensives, and Russia, which has everything for a maneuverable war, does not use its advantage.
It should be noted that according to The Military Balance, by the beginning of 2022, the RF Armed Forces had 13 tanks of various models. At the same time, 617 were in reserve (at storage bases), 10 were in service with the Ground Forces, another 200 were with the Coastal Forces of the Navy and 2 were in the Airborne Forces. But it takes a lot of time and effort to put more than 927 tanks into service. In addition, to support the advancing “armored armadas”, to cover the flanks and rear, several times more infantry is needed than the limited contingent of the Russian army currently has in the NVO. It is the presence of a significant number of infantry that makes it possible to control territories and realize all the advantages in technology and firepower.