Five golf carts loaded with Russian soldiers rolled towards the Ukrainian lines

An attack by at least five Russian golf carts loaded with infantry ended in the usual manner on Monday or shortly before, when Ukrainian forces blew up the flimsy all-terrain vehicles, stopping the attack and likely inflicting heavy losses on the Russians.

The devastating Russian attack on Ukrainian positions around the eastern Ukrainian city of Kupiansk – which was defended by the 4th Tank Brigade, the 30th Mechanized Brigade and the 100th Territorial Defense Brigade, among others – helps explain why Russian losses continue to mount in the 29th month of the war against Ukraine.

The Kremlin is trying to replace destroyed armored vehicles with new ones – either newly built or brought out of long-term storage. It is therefore equipping more units with civilian-style vehicles, including Chinese-made Desertcross 1000-3 all-terrain vehicles and Chinese and Belarusian dirt bikes.

Troops on off-road vehicles and motorcycles have no chance against dug-in Ukrainian troops, supported by artillery and drones. It is not without reason that the Russians are losing more soldiers than ever before. “The average daily number of Russian casualties (dead and wounded) in Ukraine rose to conflict highs of 1,262 and 1,163 respectively in May and June 2024,” the British Ministry of Defense reported last week.

According to the ministry, the Russians lost a total of “over” 70,000 people between May 1 and June 30. The Ukrainian losses are apparently significantly lower.

Armoring the ATVs and motorcycles with anti-drone cages doesn’t seem to help much, as the extra armor slows down the already underpowered vehicles, making them more vulnerable to other forms of Ukrainian firepower. The resumption of U.S. aid to Ukraine in April, after a six-month blockade by pro-Russian Republican lawmakers in the U.S. Congress, has resulted in billions of dollars worth of artillery shells and anti-tank missiles flowing to Ukraine’s front-line troops.

The heavy losses are at odds with the modest gains made by the 450,000-strong Russian army in Ukraine since this spring. In fact, the losses are partly due to Russia extending the front line by simultaneously attacking in southern, eastern and – from May – northern Ukraine around the city of Kharkiv.

“The increase in casualties reflects Russia’s opening of a new front line in the Kharkiv region, while maintaining the same number of offensive operations on the rest of the front,” the UK Ministry of Defence said. “While this new approach has increased pressure on the front, effective Ukrainian defences and a lack of Russian training are reducing Russia’s ability to exploit tactical gains.”

Whether Russian President Vladimir Putin thinks it’s worth trading a thousand soldiers a day for a few hundred meters of shell-torn Ukrainian soil is a question only Putin can answer. For now, however, the Russian army shows no signs of giving up.

Strangely, some Russian soldiers praise the same civilian vehicles that are increasingly costing them their lives. “The motorcycle is increasingly becoming an indispensable front-line vehicle,” claimed one Russian military blogger.

Sources:

1. AstraiaIntel: https://x.com/astraiaintel/status/1812853497726984591

2. Center for Defense Strategies: https://cdsdailybrief.substack.com/p/russias-war-on-ukraine-150724

3. Control map of Ukraine: https://www.google.com/maps/d/u/0/viewer?mid=1xPxgT8LtUjuspSOGHJc2VzA5O5jWMTE&ll=49.731117648114584%2C37.70498685077798&z=12

4. British Ministry of Defence: https://x.com/DefenceHQ/status/1811678866672353372

5. War translated: https://x.com/wartranslated/status/1812416095694778468