Russian troops change tactics: giving up their positions to strike back

The Russian military have resorted to "elastic defence" tactics during the Ukrainian offensive.

Source: The New York Times, citing security experts, Ukrainian officials and military experts 

Quote from NYT: "One unusually daunting obstacle to Ukrainian troops is a tactic adopted by Russian forces: ceding ground and then striking back.

Rather than holding a line of trenches at all costs in the face of Ukraine’s assault, security experts say, Russian commanders have employed a longstanding military tactic known as 'elastic defense’.

To execute the tactic, Russian forces pull back to a second line of positions, encouraging Ukrainian troops to advance, and then strike back when the opposing forces are vulnerable — either while moving across open ground or as they arrive at the recently abandoned Russian positions." 

Details: "Elastic defence" is not a new strategy. The Soviet Union used it in 1943 during the Battle of Kursk. 

Its goal is to prevent the enemy troops from actually gaining a foothold in a position and to use it as a springboard for further offensive.  

At the same time, as the NYT notes, according to Ukrainian officials and military experts, this tactic is only one of several factors that hinder Ukraine's offensive.

In addition to "elastic defence", the advance is slowed down by minefields, trenches and tank barriers, as well as the reluctance of NATO allies to provide Ukraine with modern fighter jets and longer-range weapons in the earlier stages of the full-scale war.

Experts interviewed by the newspaper added that it is impossible to establish whether the Russians are currently using this tactic. 

Background: 

• The Institute for the Study of War noticed signs of this tactic in recent days around the village of Robotyne, which is controlled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

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