Russia Forced To Ration Ammo As Ukraine Strikes Degrade Supplies

In its latest strike on Russian ammunition storage depots, Ukraine's drones blew up an arsenal outside Belgorod in Russia near the Ukrainian border, resulting in the explosion captured in the photo at left.

The strategic impact of Ukraine's relentless targeting of these depots is that Russian units have been forced to ration the amount of ammunition they use, curtailing the impact on Ukrainian operations. JL

Bohuslav Romanenko reports in New Voice of Ukraine:

Ukrainian  strikes on Russian logistics routes and ammunition depots have forced the Russians to impose limits on artillery ammunition use. "Some Russian units, including the 36th Army command have introduced limits on the use of artillery ammunition. Earlier, on a specific section of the front, the enemy concentrated fire and kept firing until it destroyed the entire position; now such cases have decreased.” Because of the shortage of artillery ammunition, Russian forces are also reducing the use of weapons systems positioned closer to the line of combat.

Ukrainian strikes on Russian logistics routes and ammunition depots have forced some Russian units to impose limits on artillery ammunition use, Vladyslav Voloshyn, spokesman for Ukraine’s Southern Defense Forces, said on national television on June 9.

Speaking on the United News telethon, Voloshyn said Ukrainian forces have been targeting Russian supply routes and ammunition storage sites.

“This has led to the fact that in some Russian units, including the 36th Army, the command has introduced limits on the use of artillery ammunition,” Voloshyn said. “Earlier, on a specific section of the front, the enemy concentrated fire and kept firing until it destroyed the entire position; now such cases have decreased.” 

Because of the shortage of artillery ammunition, Russian forces are also reducing the use of weapons systems positioned closer to the line of combat, he added.

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At the same time, the Southern Defense Forces said Russia is compensating for reduced artillery use with airstrikes, using guided aerial bombs and missile strikes against Ukrainian military positions as well as towns and villages.

Overnight into June 7, Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces attacked 26 Russian military targets in temporarily occupied parts of Ukraine and in Russia’s Bryansk Oblast.

Analysts at the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War previously said Ukraine’s medium- and long-range strikes were causing anger and panic among Russian milbloggers, who complained that Ukrainian forces were hitting critical defense infrastructure and knocking out radar stations and air defense systems.