Russian Airpower Over Ukraine Increasing + More Shortcomings Appear Ahead Ukrainian Offensive

Update on conflict in Ukraine for April 23-24, 2023:

– Most of Bakhmut is now under Russian control;

– Ukraine & Western media report increasing use of precision-guided bombs by Russian military aviation;

– Russian bombing is increasingly effective owed to dwindling Ukrainian air defenses;

– Recent Ukraine Contact Group in Germany admit air defenses in Ukraine are a priority, fail to commit to any possible solution;

– US announces acceleration of its shipments of 31 M1-Abram tanks to Ukraine after a 10 week training course, less than half the training an entry-level US tank crew receives;

– Despite growing doubts of a Ukrainian offensive, it will likely unfold and may even have success in taking territory but will leave Ukraine at a further disadvantage in what is otherwise a war of attrition;

– Ukraine faces critical shortages in arms, ammunition, & trained manpower;

– US claims sanctions against Russia are “working,” yet data to substantiate that claim appears deliberately cherry-picked and taken out of context;

References:

DW – Guided bombs — new Russian tactics in the Ukraine war? (April 23, 2023):
https://www.dw.com/en/guided-bombs-ne…

US DoD – Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark A. Milley Hold a Post-Ukraine Defense Contact Group Press Conference, Ramstein Air Base, Germany (April 21, 2023):
https://www.defense.gov/News/Transcri…

Ukrinform – Ramstein countries deliver over 230 tanks to Ukraine (April 21, 2023):
https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/…

RFE/RL – U.S. Military Chiefs Say Increasing Ukraine’s Air Defense Capability Most Urgent Critical Task (April 21, 2023):
https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-bakhm…

History Legends – Ukraine is Running Out of Soldiers (April 17, 2023):
   • Ukraine is Runnin…  

Washington Post – As spring offensive nears, Ukraine is drafting reinforcements (April 11, 2023):
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/…

Guardian – Nato ‘confident’ Kyiv can retake territory in new offensive; Moscow issues warrant for Ukrainian spy chief – as it happened (April 22, 2023):
https://www.theguardian.com/world/liv…

NYT – U.S. Says It Will Begin Training Ukraine on Abrams Tanks Within Weeks (April 22, 2023):
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/04/…

Washington Post – Wounded Ukrainian soldiers reveal steep toll of Kherson offensive (September 2022):
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/…

NPR – Ukraine’s offensive in Kharkiv was hard and bitter, say soldiers who did the fighting (September 2022):
https://www.npr.org/2022/09/29/112527…