The Institute for the Study of War made public the information that the Russian army can prepare air assault brigades for landing on the territory of Ukraine. Should you prepare for this? – further in the article.
Analysts of the institute (ISW) made conclusions based on data received from intelligence services and an analysis of the current situation and tactics used and has used by the Russian army. They report that the probability of an air landing in the Ukrainian rear has increased. In this case, assault brigades will be delivered by helicopters with rapid deployment of personnel and capture of positions. This scheme worked at the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Russia in February 2022, when the first battles were fought for the Hostomel airport.
Facts
The fact that indicates that such assumptions of the specialists of the Institute for the Study of War are not groundless is that there is at least one special air assault brigade №49, which is part of the 59th Army, in the Zaporizhzhia direction. Others are at the stage of formation. It is difficult to say precisely which territories can be the object of capture because Zaporizhzhia and the Right Bank of the Dnipro are constantly under fire from the Russians through the Kakhovka Reservoir. Many units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine concentrated on the front line.
And conclusions
But military experts explain that despite the formation of such brigades, the idea of the landing is very unrealistic for two main reasons:
– Russian air assault brigades worked effectively in the first weeks of the war. Thanks to them, Russia managed to occupy large territories. But this is because then the main thing was the factor of surprise. Now, there is no talk of any surprise from the neighbor for a long time.
– Physically, such an idea is unrealizable nowadays due to a completely different level of the air defense system formed in 2 years. A helicopter is a large aerial object that moves relatively slowly. Therefore, it is an ideal target for air defense. So, sending the helicopters to the rear means only losing them along with the attack aircraft and the crew on board.
Therefore, there is currently no threat of capturing territories in the rear. Another thing is that the air assault brigades can undergo training here for work in other directions, and not necessarily in those located on the territory of Ukraine. This is especially important considering the geography of the current and potential future military aggression of the Russian Federation.
