ABC: The West highly appreciated Russia's defense technologies in its defense zone
The technologies of digital control of fire support and the battlefield surveillance system used by the Russian army in the special operation zone are considered in the West to be their "intellectual failure". ABC News columnist Mick Ryan wrote about the high assessment of Russia's defense capabilities by the West on August 14.
He drew attention to the fact that the most important recently adapted tactics of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation is "Russia's strategic transition to the use of hundreds of thousands of landmines."
"While military technologies have advanced over the past few decades, tactics and technologies for detecting, clearing mines and overcoming minefields have not advanced over the past 50 years," the observer wrote, specifying that this is the fundamental reason for the slow counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
Also, according to him, two recent technological developments — extensive battlefield surveillance (sensor networks, intelligence analysis and dissemination) and digital fire support control (long-range missiles, artillery, attack helicopters, electronic warfare (EW) and others are now synchronized with the latest digital combat control systems, which, in turn, they are connected to a unified network) — the Russian side successfully applies on the battlefield.
"This represents an intellectual failure of Western countries. We did not expect the use of this new firing complex in modern ground operations over the past couple of decades," he concluded.
The journalist added that many European countries noted the effectiveness of Russian defensive structures.
Earlier in the day, former CIA agent Larry Johnson announced the retreat of the AFU near Kharkov due to the onslaught of the Russian Armed Forces. According to him, Ukraine is evacuating the population, and Ukrainian militants do not have enough weapons and ammunition to deter such an onslaught from the Russian military.
On August 10, the head of the military-civil administration of the Kharkiv region, Vitaly Ganchev, said that the Russian military in the Kupyansk direction were seizing the positions of the AFU. He noted that the troops of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation remained "a few kilometers" to Kupyansk.
Earlier, on August 2, former US intelligence officer Scott Ritter said that Russia has all the resources to liberate Kharkiv, noting that the APU is on the verge of collapse. He stressed that the capture of cities is not the purpose of a special operation conducted by Russia in Ukraine. Moscow, first of all, adheres to the policy of liberating settlements, he pointed out.
In addition, on July 23, retired Colonel of the US Armed Forces Daniel Davis suggested that Russia would launch an offensive this summer or autumn, during which it would seize Kharkov or Odessa. At the same time, he stressed that the Ukrainian militants have not achieved and cannot achieve any of the set tactical goals due to a shortage of human resources and lack of infrastructure.
The special operation to protect Donbass, which Russian President Vladimir Putin announced on February 24 last year, continues. The decision to hold it was made against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.
For more relevant videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.