Russians trying to slow Ukrainian counter-offensive in southern Ukraine – UK intelligence

The Russian military is trying in every way to slow Ukrainian armored counter-offensive operations in the south of the country.

According to Ukrinform, the UK Ministry of Defense said this in a new intelligence update published on its Twitter account.

"In recent weeks, Russia has prioritized and refined tactics aimed at slowing Ukrainian armored counter-offensive operations in southern Ukraine," the ministry said.

It added that the core of this approach has been Russia's very heavy use of anti-tank mines.

"In some areas the density of its minefields indicates that it has likely used many more mines than laid down in its military doctrine," the UK Ministry of Defense said.

It noted that having slowed the Ukrainian advance, Russia has then attempted to strike Ukrainian armored vehicles with one-way attack uncrewed aerial vehicles, attack helicopters and artillery.

"Although Russia has achieved some success with this approach in the early stages of Ukraine's counter-offensive, its forces continue to suffer from key weaknesses, especially overstretched units and a shortage of artillery munitions," the ministry concluded.