Ukraine attacks on Russian rear area impacting logistics

 ISW:

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Ukrainian officials stated on July 22 that Ukraine’s interdiction campaign against Russian military targets in rear areas is successfully degrading Russian logistics and counterbattery capabilities, likely contributing to an asymmetrical attrition gradient in Ukraine’s favor. Ukrainian Chief of the Main Directorate of Missile Troops and Artillery and Unmanned Systems of the General Staff Colonel Serhiy Baranov stated on July 22 that Ukrainian missile and artillery units are responsible for approximately 90 percent of Russian losses.[8] Baranov stated that Ukrainian missile and artillery units have created a long-range “fire fist” thanks to Western high-precision missiles and artillery systems and that Ukrainian strikes are so powerful and accurate that Russian forces can no longer conduct effective counterbattery fire.[9] Ukrainian Southern Operational Command Spokesperson Captain First Rank Nataliya Humenyuk stated on July 22 that Ukrainian attacks on Russian ammunition concentrations in deep rear areas are causing logistical issues for the Russian military.[10] Humenyuk noted that this trend is reflected in decreased Russian shelling in Kherson Oblast, which indicates that Russian forces are experiencing “shell hunger” in the area.[11] Ukrainian Tavriisk Group of Forces Commander Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi compared Ukraine’s counteroffensive to boxing on July 13 and stated that Ukraine intends to “hold the opponent at arm’s length” in order to avoid close combat because Ukraine can effectively defeat Russian forces from a long distance, likely referencing Ukraine’s continued interdiction campaign in eastern and southern Ukraine.[12] Baranov’s, Humenyuk’s, and Tarnavskyi’s statements suggest that the Ukrainian military is successfully carrying out this interdiction campaign. This campaign is a central aspect of Ukraine’s plan to create an asymmetrical attrition gradient that conserves Ukrainian manpower at the cost of a slower rate of territorial gains while gradually wearing down Russian manpower and equipment.[13]

Ukrainian forces struck a Russian oil depot and ammunition depot in Crimea as part of this Ukrainian pressure campaign. The Ukrainian Armed Forces reported on July 22 that Ukrainian forces destroyed an oil depot and ammunition depot near Oktyabrske, Krasnohvardiiske Raion, Crimea.[14] Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces also struck an airfield near Oktyabrske where Russian forces have reportedly been stockpiling equipment for a month.[15] Crimea occupation head Sergey Aksyonov confirmed that Ukrainian forces struck an ammunition depot, causing it to explode and prompting occupation officials to evacuate residents within a five-kilometer radius of the depot.[16] Aksyonov also stated that Russian authorities suspended rail traffic on the Kerch Strait bridge to minimize risk.[17] A Kremlin-affiliated milblogger claimed that Ukrainian forces launched two Storm Shadow cruise missiles, while other milbloggers claimed that Ukrainian forces used an unspecified number of drones for the strike.[18] ISW cannot confirm what kind of weapons Ukrainian forces used in this strike. A prominent Russian milblogger tied today’s strike to Ukraine’s previous strikes on Russian military warehouses in Crimea and the Chonhar and Kerch Strait bridges.[19] The milblogger claimed that Ukrainian strikes are aimed at disrupting Russian logistics and creating “shell hunger” in Russia’s forces fighting in southern Ukraine.[20]
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Russia is finding it has limits on its ability to attack Ukraine and even engage in counter-attacks.  The use of the US-supplied HIMARS missiles has pushed back the Russian rear operations making it hard for Russia to supply its own troops.  With its oil and ammo depots under attack, Russia is struggling.  

See, also:

After Ukraine's success with US-made HIMARS, European militaries are looking for their own rocket artillery

Impressed with the success of the US-made M142 HIMARS multiple rocket launcher in Ukraine, more European nations want to buy HIMARS — or develop their own version of it.

German defense contractor Rheinmetall and US defense firm Lockheed Martin have partnered to offer GMARS, a replacement for Germany's aging MARS 2 multiple launch rocket system, according to Defense News.

The acronym "GMARS" seems to reflect HIMARS as much as MARS 2, of which Germany has delivered several to Ukraine. MARS 2 is the European version of the US-made M270 multiple launch rocket system.

GMARS would be similar to HIMARS but bigger, with a larger chassis based on Rheinmetall's HX 8x8 truck, and would have 80% commonality with HIMARS munitions and logistics, a Lockheed Martin official told Defense News. The GMARS vehicle would be about 39 feet long vs. the 23-foot length of a HIMARS truck and carry two rocket pods instead of HIMARS' one.
...

And:

 Ukraine's military is overcoming Russia's dense minefields and its counteroffensive is poised to 'gain pace,' Zelenskyy says

...

Russian defenses like landmines, tripwires, and booby traps have so far hampered Ukraine's progress, with soldiers forced to use metal detectors and other equipment to slowly search and clear pathways.

The dense minefields laid by Russian forces have also meant that Ukrainian soldiers have had to leave behind some of their advanced Western tanks and progress on foot.

A decorated former US Army Special Forces engineer who cleared out improvised explosives in Afghanistan and has since been tackling threats in Ukraine said the monstrous minefields Russia is laying down are unlike anything he has ever seen.

Ukrainian soldiers have said that Russia was able to use the long buildup to the counteroffensive to lay these defenses.
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And:

 Russia comes under pressure at UN to avoid global food crisis and revive Ukrainian grain shipments

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Russia said it suspended the Black Sea Grain Initiative because the U.N. had failed to overcome obstacles to shipping its food and fertilizer to global markets, the other half of the Ukraine grain deal. The Kremlin said it would consider resuming Ukrainian shipments if progress is made in overcoming the obstacles, including in banking arrangements.
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And:

 Russia is preparing an alternative grain supply plan to oust Ukraine from world market – Financial Times

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According to the publication’s sources, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed an alternative initiative, according to which Qatar will pay Moscow for the delivery of Russian grain to Türkiye, which will then distribute it to "countries that need it".

Neither Qatar nor Türkiye agreed with the idea, which Moscow has not yet brought to a formal level. Another person familiar with the matter said Qatar was unlikely to support the idea.

Russia first proposed the idea of supplying grain to Africa last year after it briefly pulled out of the Black Sea Grain Initiative before rejoining a few days later.
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