Great Losses: The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation apply a new tactic of assaulting the positions of the Armed Forces - Forbes
After 28 months of grueling battles, when armored vehicles have exhausted, the Russian army is increasingly relying on inexpensive motorcycles to equip front troops. The analyst Andrew Perpetua reported that in February five Russian military motorcycles were destroyed, in March - one, in April - 13, in May - 56, and in the first week of June - nine. Most of them were destroyed by Ukrainian drones. Dozens of motorcycles have been damaged.
"It is really funny how many victims were suffered by the Russians as a result of their motorcycle attacks," Perpetua writes. "Despite the heavy losses, the Russian army doubles the concept of assault motorcycle, which army has repeatedly tried to abandon the time of the First World War. The 5th Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Russian Army, fighting in the Krasnogorivka area in eastern Ukraine, formed a special motorcycle strategies, " - the material reads.
The motorcycle platoon complements the combat units, says Russian correspondent Alexander Sladkov. "This is a supplement to combat motorcyclists in battalions," he writes. The brigades can form their own motorcycle platoons, which are instructed to deliver goods and evacuate the wounded. However, they will probably have a fighting role. Russian commanders who lack vehicles are increasingly sending motorcycle units to Ukrainian positions.
The material describes one of the recent operations in the south of Ukraine, when the first wave of attackers moved on tanks and combat armored vehicles. When this wave was stopped by Ukrainian artillery and drones, the second wave consisted of infantry and motorcyclists. The results were catastrophic for the Russians. "Sometimes six artillery guns were shot at their positions," the Ukrainian drone operator recalls with the call sign "Krygsforsh".
In recent weeks, Ukrainian brigades-28th, 30th, 54th mechanized and 79th landing-have been struck by Russian motorcycle troops with the help of drones equipped with explosives and grenades. The makeshift armor on motorcycles helped little. According to the newspaper, this spring it was assumed that the new Russian tactics of using motorcycles can be effective: soldiers are becoming faster and more difficult visible from the air.
In practice, motorcycle troops were vulnerable to artillery and drone, which leads to high losses. But because of the lack of armored vehicles, Russian troops had alternatives. If the Russian unit is unable to get modern combat vehicles, it has to be satisfied with 50-year-old MT-LB armored tractors, Chinese golf carts, or more and more, soil bicycles. "The only option is to fight. But it is even more dangerous than going on a motorcycle," Forbes summarizes.