The Kremlin is likely planning a role for Russian airborne troops in future operations in Ukraine even after they sustained heavy losses during the early stages of the war, British officials said Tuesday.
British military intelligence analysts have noted multiple reports that Russian airborne forces, known as VDV, have begun receiving TOS-1A thermobaric multiple-launch rocket systems. Mounted atop a modified T-72 tank, the “vacuum bombs” are designed to attack fortified positions and lightly-armored vehicles in open terrain.
Designated by Russian officials as a “heavy flamethrower,” the rockets have not previously been associated with paratrooper units, British intelligence officials said in a Twitter post.
“The transfer likely indicates a future role for the VDV in offensive operations in Ukraine,” the report said. “It is likely part of efforts to reconstitute the VDV after it suffered heavy casualties in the first nine months of the war.”
Russian forces in eastern and southern Ukraine are bracing for what is expected to be a major new push by Ukrainian forces this spring, continuing a counteroffensive by Kyiv that reclaimed a number of major cities in fighting last fall.
Separately, a new United Nations estimate released Tuesday said that nearly 8,500 civilians are confirmed dead in the 14-month war and some 14,244 have been injured. Both numbers, the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said, are likely to be substantially below the actual totals.
The majority of the deaths were recorded in Ukrainian-controlled territory under attack by Russian invading forces, but some were also in areas in the disputed Donbas region controlled by Russian forces and pro-Russian separatists.
