Land Warfare

Russia has increasingly encircled territory and then pummelled Ukrainian forces with artillery and glide bombs, according to Russian analysts, with the sheer numerical superiority of Moscow's artillery batteries and ammunition affording Putin's troops a significant advantage. Russian artillery divisions can be deployed in more locations and can sustain a much higher rate of fire than their Ukrainian counterparts, helping to scupper Kyiv's counterattacks while softening up defensive positions. A recent report published by the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) think tank and Open Source Centre estimated that Russian artillery attacks are responsible for some 70 per cent of Ukrainian casualties. Their research revealed that Russia's rate of artillery fire has averaged roughly 10,000 rounds per day since the early months of the war which saw peaks as high as 36,000 rounds per day.

Kyiv said it struck the radar of the S-400 surface-to-air battery, considered to be broadly equivalent to the U.S. military's Patriot air-defense system, overnight. Each system costs around $200 million, an expert with the London-based Royal United Services Institute defense think tank previously told Newsweek.

Whether the fighting pauses this year or not, Ukraine’s sovereignty depends on its being armed to the teeth. For the next two years at least, argues Jack Watling of the Royal United Services Institute, this will be hard without American artillery and logistics.