Russia changes tactics in long-range strikes on Ukraine, Kaju says

Russia has shifted from concentrated nighttime attacks on Ukraine to strikes carried out over longer periods with fewer weapons, effectively continuing around the clock, ERR reported, citing Gert Kaju, head of the Ministry of Defence’s defence readiness department.

Kaju said Ukraine recorded an average of 225 clashes a day last week, unchanged from the previous week.

The heaviest fighting remained in the Pokrovsk and Konstantinovka directions in Donetsk region, he said. Fighting was also intense in the Lyman direction, also in Donetsk region, in the Hulyaipole direction in Zaporizhzhia region and in Kharkiv region.

Ukrainian forces were counterattacking mainly in the Kupiansk, Borova and Velykyi Burluk directions in Kharkiv region, as well as toward Lyman, Sloviansk and Konstantinovka in Donetsk region.

According to Kaju, the Russian army suffered an average of 1,500 military personnel killed or wounded per day last week. He said the figure had risen somewhat compared with two or three weeks earlier.

Previously, Russia carried out long-range precision strikes at night using numerous attack weapons within a short period. It is now doing so over longer periods with fewer weapons, effectively throughout the day and night, Kaju said.

The change has placed an additional burden on Ukrainian air defence units and has also affected transport, the economy and the civilian sector, he said.

Kaju said Russian forces had been steadily increasing the share of jet-powered drones among their air attack weapons. According to Ukrainian data, about 2,800 drones of this type were launched against Ukraine in August.

Jet-powered drones are faster and therefore more difficult for air defence units to intercept. Ukraine has been forced to develop countermeasures, Kaju said. He added that the first examples of such measures had been produced and were being improved.

“This shows that the pattern of air attacks, the tactics used and the weapons involved are constantly evolving on both sides, from the perspective of both attack and defence,” Kaju said.

Russia attacked 13 Ukrainian regions last week. Its targets continued to include critical infrastructure, various civilian facilities, energy installations and industrial sites, Kaju said.

Russia has also systematically attacked food warehouses, destroying many of them. Ukraine has therefore had to review its supply chains and distribution networks, but the assessment is that food shortages should not arise, Kaju said.

Russian attacks on Ukraine’s railway infrastructure have also expanded, targeting not only infrastructure but different means of transport. While earlier attacks focused on railways and railway bridges, they have been extended to substations supporting railway operations, as well as trains, locomotives and depots, he said.

Kaju said Russia had also begun attacking printing houses in Ukraine. About 12 million books had been destroyed as a result, according to Ukrainian information, including up to one-third of all books printed in the country this year.

In response to the Russian attacks, Ukraine has improved its air raid warning system, making it more flexible and more informative for residents, Kaju said.