Newsweek: The Russian army cannot renew its forces in Ukraine

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published by the American magazine Newsweek stated that the Russian army is no longer able - in the short term - to deploy large numbers of additional conventional forces in Ukraine that are more effective than what it has already established.

He added that as the Ukrainian forces continue to use the weapons supplied by the West to carry out precise strikes on Russian military targets;

The Russian response remains - to a large extent - limited to the rhetorical field, according to the report.

The report quoted George Barros, an analyst at the Institute for the Study of War in Washington, as saying that among the units that were monitored - which could have been withdrawn by the Russians to go to Ukraine - almost every brigade and maneuver regiment within the Russian army deployed part of its forces in Ukraine and suffered combat losses, "We estimate that they basically have no reserve regiment or brigade back home that they can draw from."

Political, logistical and human factors

The report said that despite Russia's status and its youth recruitment and census system that enables it to rotate nearly a quarter of a million people through the armed forces every year, the country's ability to deploy additional armies in the field is limited by political, logistical and human factors.

He explained that instead of issuing an official declaration of war and summoning reservists, the Kremlin tried to renew the army's ranks with volunteers recruited from the provinces, and there is no indication that it is preparing for an official declaration of war.

Barros said that the way the Russians built up their power indicated a strong desire to avoid mass mobilization, because if they could do so, they likely did.

Relying on the weak and the volunteers

And the report of the American magazine added that Russia is increasing its financial incentives for weak and volunteer soldiers, and they are not among those who will perform well in combat situations even if they receive appropriate training, which they did not do.

The report noted that despite the fact that many Russians of military age have military experience - on paper - there appears to be no quick fix to the Russian manpower shortage.

Even if the Kremlin leadership changes course and puts its reserves in a unified state, there is a serious question how quickly these recalls can be turned into an effective fighting force.

high drain

Because of the extremely high rates of attrition that Russian officers have experienced in Ukraine, Barros said, it would take a generation to retrain the kind of military leadership necessary to effectively coordinate all these moving pieces.

The report added that the problems of the Russian army also extend to equipment, and by all indications, Russia's stock of artillery shells dating back to the Soviet era and low-tech tools is still abundant.

However, spare quantities of more advanced weapons may run out, and Western sanctions against dual-use technologies make it difficult for Russia to replace expendable supplies of weapons systems that rely on imported components.