The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported on 24 August that allowing Ukraine to conduct long-range strikes against Russian military targets within Russia is essential for weakening Russian military capabilities across the theater of operations.
Accordign to the ISW, lifting restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Western-provided weapons would enable Ukrainian forces to target a broad range of significant assets supporting Russia’s war effort.
A senior Biden administration national security official, speaking anonymously, claimed that Ukrainian strikes using Western-provided weapons against targets within Russia would be ineffective. The official reportedly stated that the Russian military has relocated military aircraft from airbases near Ukraine.
However, the ISW contends that this assessment “ignores how Russian forces are leveraging sanctuary space in deep rear areas within Russia for a wide array of infrastructure besides airfields to support military operations against Ukraine.”
Politico reported on 23 August that an unnamed senior Biden administration national security official said Russian officials moved some targets out of range of Western-provided Storm Shadow and ATACMS missiles. The same report indicated that Ukrainian forces have a limited supply of these missiles.
Another administration official, also speaking anonymously, reportedly said that Russian forces had relocated 90 percent of the aircraft conducting glide bomb strikes from Russian airspace away from airfields within range of Storm Shadow and ATACMS missiles.
The ISW notes that it has confirmed these redeployments of Russian aircraft to airfields beyond the reach of Western-provided long-range weapons. The report adds that the observed decrease in Russian aviation activity throughout the theater aligns with reports of Russian forces redeploying aviation assets.
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