Ukrainian army needs increase in mechanised weapons to enhance combat capabilities – ISW

The Ukrainian army needs to increase the number of mechanised weapons, specifically armoured personnel carriers (APCs), Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and tanks, to enhance its combat capabilities.

Source: Institute for the Study of War (ISW)

Details: Ukrainian forces have partially addressed artillery ammunition shortages, caused by delays in Western aid, by employing FPV drones to counter Russian infantry and armoured vehicle assaults. However, these drones are not capable of fully replacing the tactical needs of traditional field artillery.

Ukraine has also taken steps to increase domestic production of 155mm artillery shells, though these industries had to be built from scratch during the war.

In addition, Ukraine has been working to expand its production of armoured vehicles since 2022, including APCs, but it is still unable to manufacture complete tanks.

Quote: "The US and other foreign allies likely can greatly increase the effectiveness of Ukrainian force-generation and force-reconstitution efforts by providing Ukrainian forces with more mechanised equipment, such as M113 armoured personnel carriers, Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, and main battle tanks. 

Ukraine’s 155th Infantry Brigade was recently upgraded to a mechanised infantry brigade after the brigade was equipped with Leopard tanks, for example.

The generation of more Ukrainian infantry without a commensurate increase in mechanised equipment will not substantially increase Ukraine’s combat power or increase Ukraine’s warfighting capabilities."

Details: Zelenskyy also stressed that Ukraine requires permission to use Western-supplied precision weapons to target military sites within Russia. He noted that Russia is already exploiting Western restrictions and policy delays by relocating aircraft from airbases that are within the range of these precision weapons.

Quote: "ISW has previously assessed that there are over 200 military objects in Russia within range of US-provided ATACMS that are not airfields, and significant delays in allowing Ukraine to strike these objects gives the Kremlin more time to fortify or relocate these assets beyond the range of Western-provided weapons before Ukrainian forces are able to strike them with these weapons."

Details: ISW has previously assessed that Russian leader Vladimir Putin is aiming to outlast both Western military support for Ukraine and Ukraine’s resolve to defend itself by relying on attritional warfare and efforts to erode trust in the Ukrainian government.

Zelenskyy indicated that Ukraine is extending the war into Russian territory through strikes in Russia and the ongoing incursion into Kursk Oblast to weaken domestic Russian support for the war.

He also emphasised that Russia will only consider negotiations with Ukraine if Ukraine remains militarily strong.

To quote the ISW’s Key Takeaways on 16 September:  

• Ukraine has taken steps to address its manpower shortages, but delays and insufficiencies in Western military aid to Ukraine continue to limit its ability to generate effective combat units that can defend critical areas and contest the theatre-wide initiative.
• Zelenskyy reiterated that Ukraine's incursion into Kursk Oblast has forced Russia to redirect some resources from Ukraine to defend in Russia but that Ukraine still needs sufficient resources and Western permission to strike military targets in Russia to mitigate the theatre-wide strain on Ukrainian forces.
• Russia continues to build out its long-term military capacity by gradually increasing the size of its armed forces.
• Iran is simultaneously setting conditions to build a nuclear weapon while continuing to signal its willingness to resume nuclear negotiations with the West.
• Select Russian Ministry of Defence (MoD) officials continue to face corruption charges as the Russian military leadership is undertaking a wider effort to root out corruption in the MoD.
• Ukrainian forces advanced in the Glushkovsky district, Kursk Oblast, and Russian forces recaptured territory in the area as of 16 September. Ukrainian and Russian forces recently advanced in the Kursk salient.
• Ukrainian forces regained territory near the cities of Kharkiv and Pokrovsk.
• Russian forces advanced near Kreminna, Chasiv Yar, Pokrovsk and Vuhledar.
• Russia reportedly continues to coerce migrants to fight in the Russian military.

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