Moscow’s troops are now attacking in smaller groups with scaled-back objectives, a response to organizational problems and Ukrainian military resistance. This indicates that the occupier's ambitions have diminished even at the tactical level, the Washington Post wrote, citing a Pentagon official.
Russia usually used tactical groups of hundreds of soldiers. This was required for maneuvering on the battlefield. But because of the prolonged fighting in Donbas and the stalling of russian offensive, smaller units were now allocated. Sometimes a few dozen to a hundred soldiers advanced into an attack.
These units have also reduced the scope of their tasks. They concentrated on certain towns and villages or even at crossroads. However, the other tactic has not changed, which is the ground offensive immediately after artillery shelling. This is less effective because they do not always maneuver in tandem with support from tanks or other units.
According to a U.S. Defense Department official, the occupants have succeeded between Kherson and Mykolaiv toward the Black Sea and west of Donetsk. This is apparently an attempt to link up with other troops in the region.
The tactic of deploying troops with fire support was used by the occupants this week in the Sumy region. The russian military was firing mortars, grenade launchers, machine guns and automatic rifles, after which they tried to lead a RSG into the Sumy region. The attempt failed - Ukrainian defenders repulsed the attack and forced the enemies to flee abroad.