ISW: Ukrainian strikes on Russian rear areas degrading occupiers’ morale

Ukrainian strikes on Russian rear areas are demonstrably degrading the morale of Russian forces.

“Ukrainian strikes on Russian rear areas are demonstrably degrading the morale of Russian forces in Ukraine, which could threaten the stability of Russian defenses on multiple critical areas of the front,” reads the report by the U.S. Institute for the Study of War.

As noted, morale issues “can quickly intensify and spread among Russian frontline units if one unit under pressure breaks, which could spread panic and significantly reduce the combat effectiveness of other Russian forces.”

“A broken Russian frontline unit would threaten the integrity of other frontline defenses, and such a break in the Russian frontline would provide a vulnerability that Ukrainian forces could exploit,” ISW notes.

The vulnerability of the deep Russian rear to Ukrainian strikes was also taken note of in the Russian information space.

“Ukrainian strikes against Russian deep rear areas are generating discontent in the Russian information space and sparking criticism of the Russian military command, as Ukraine likely intends,” the experts say.