US delays in assistance limit Ukrainian forces’ defense and gives Russians flexibility in offensive - ISW

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said this in its latest report, according to Ukrinform.

ISW exerts believe that this dynamic can lead to compounding and non-linear opportunities for Russian forces to make operationally significant gains in the future.

According to the report, Russia and Ukraine are engaged in a constant air domain offense-defense innovation-adaptation race, in which Russia continues to adjust the timing, scale, composition, and targets of its strike packages to attempt to penetrate Ukraine’s air defense umbrella.

“Significant delays in US military assistance have already created shortages in Ukraine’s air defense missile stockpiles and hinder Ukraine’s ability to adapt to evolving Russian strike packages,” the report says.

It is noted that limited air defense systems and interceptors have forced Ukraine to make difficult decisions to allocate air defense systems between rear and frontline areas leaving frontline troops largely exposed to Russian air attack.

The ISW stresses that only the United States can rapidly provide air defense systems to Ukraine at the scale necessary to significantly improve Ukraine’s air defense capabilities.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that without the U.S. aid, Ukraine “will have no chance of winning” the war with Russia. According to him, the enemy destroyed the Trypilska TPP because "there were zero missiles."

Photo: Ruslan Stefanchuk, Twitter