To Destroy Morale: Is Russia Changing Tactics in the Ukraine War?
USA sees cause for concern
Created: 09/19/2022, 20:25
By: Bettina Menzel
Washington, DC: US Chief of Staff General Mark Milley delivers a speech commemorating the victims of 9/11 in the pouring rain (stock image, September 11, 2022).
© IMAGO/Po2 Alexander Kubitza/ ZUMA Wire
How is Russia reacting to the recent military setbacks?
The British secret service and the US military expect a change in Moscow's war tactics.
Washington - The Russian army recently suffered military setbacks.
It is still unclear how the Kremlin will react to this, but there is great concern.
Ever since the beginning of the Ukraine war, experts have been warning that it would be particularly dangerous for the West if things went badly for Vladimir Putin.
US Chief of Staff Mark Milley visited a secret military base in Poland on Sunday to review the security of US troops there.
Both the US military and British intelligence fear a change in Russia's war tactics.
British secret services and the US military report changes in war tactics
Both the British secret service and the US military assume that in view of the setbacks, Russian troops are now increasingly attacking civilian targets in order to destroy Ukraine's morale.
According to British intelligence on Sunday (September 18), Russia has significantly increased its attacks on civilian Ukrainian targets with long-range missiles in the past seven days.
An example is an attack on a dam in the central Ukrainian industrial city of Kryvyi Rih, which offers no immediate military advantage.
In view of the setbacks on the front line, it is likely that Moscow will continue to use such attacks "to undermine the morale of the Ukrainian people and their government," said the daily briefing of the British Ministry of Defense on Sunday.
The US military also apparently assumes that Russia will now increasingly attack civilian targets after the setbacks.
US Chief of Staff Milley spoke of a "pattern in Russia's military response" during his visit to the US military base in Poland on Sunday, the
Wall Street Journal
reported.
Moscow has already targeted civilian targets after setbacks in the past, as allies at the front have recognized.
It is about "undermining the morale of the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian government," said the chief of staff, who shared the view of British intelligence.
It is now important to watch how Russia reacts.
US military concerned for security of troops at secret military base in Poland
The secret US military base in Poland, which Chief of Staff Mark Milley visited on Sunday, appears to serve as a key hub for arms and other supplies to Ukraine.
The general's visit was to review the security of US forces on the ground, the
Wall Street Journal
reported.
Accordingly, the base is considered a potential target for a Russian attack, although Milley made it clear that his visit was not an indicator that "anything could happen or that there is an increased threat level from US forces."
Among other things, two Patriot air defense systems are stationed on the premises of the base, which can repel rockets, cruise missiles and aircraft with a range of 68 kilometers.
Apparently, the Allied partners are also training Ukrainian troops at the military base.
NATO member Poland shares a 500-kilometer border with Ukraine and also borders the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.
The region is strategically important because the Suwalki Gap near Kaliningrad is considered "NATO's Achilles heel".