Professor Michael Clarke, a security and defense analyst, has criticized Russia’s military strategy, which relies on the use of battalion tactical groups.
He claims that the group consists of about 500 or 600 infantry, artillery and engineer members, which means that the group has a total of about 700 people.
Clarke claims that these small groups offer the Russians flexibility. However, he claims that they are also probably not the best option for waging a war like the one currently taking place in Ukraine.
He believes that in this type of war, brigades should be used, units of 5,000 soldiers with a greater concentration of artillery and tanks.
He added that Western countries have fought with smaller combat groups in Afghanistan and Iraq, but he is convinced that a war like this in Ukraine would have to be fought with brigades.
The British Ministry of Defense said that Russian forces have largely stopped deploying battalion tactical groups.
Clarke surmises that such a move suggests that the Russians are abandoning the existing concept altogether, and are shifting to a more appropriate strategy for war.
He concludes that the Russians will launch a new offensive after Christmas, but this time with large brigades.