Russia's costly dilemma: troops pulled from the front to guard supply routes
Photo: Russian military personnel (Getty Images)
Russian forces are increasingly strengthening security along logistics routes following Ukrainian strikes. This requires additional resources, according to Petro Andriushchenko, head of the Center for the Study of Occupation.
"Russian mobile fire teams are a brilliant way for Ukraine's Defense Forces to pull Russian resources away from the front. No exaggeration," Andriushchenko said.
According to him, Russian military personnel are now mostly moving in convoys of up to five vehicles, including trucks. Each convoy is escorted by between one and three mobile fire teams.
Andriushchenko said that this week alone, between 30 and 50 trucks were recorded moving toward Donetsk every day. Slightly fewer vehicles were moving toward Berdiansk. Fuel tankers are also being transported under increased security.
According to his estimates, at least 44 mobile fire teams were deployed simultaneously in the area around occupied Mariupol.
"A huge commitment of resources with questionable effectiveness," Andriushchenko said of the occupiers' tactics.
In his view, the need to allocate significant forces to escort military convoys has become one of the consequences of Ukrainian strikes on Russian logistics.
Russia's mobile fire teams are pulling resources away from the front pic.twitter.com/Whm8TZhDkx
— RBC-Ukraine (@NewsUkraineRBC) July 26, 2026
Latest attacks by Ukraine's Defense Forces
In recent days, Ukraine's Defense Forces have stepped up strikes against Russian military logistics and military-industrial targets.
On the night of July 23, Ukrainian forces struck several targets, including a tanker in the Black Sea that, according to Ukraine's General Staff, was used to transport crude oil, petroleum products and fuel for the Russian military.
A pontoon crossing near Novoekonomichne in the Donetsk region was also hit. Russian forces had been using it to move personnel and military equipment.
On the night of July 25, Ukraine's Defense Forces launched another series of long-range strikes against targets inside Russia.
According to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the targets included an oil refinery in Tyumen, a logistics facility in Yekaterinburg, a fuel and lubricant depot in Rostov-on-Don, as well as vessels and a warship in the Caspian Sea that were involved in transporting military cargo.
