Attacks on Russian arsenals show how the West is helping Russia by banning attacks on its rear – ISW

Attacks on Russian arsenals show how the West is helping Russia by banning strikes on its rear, – ISW Sofia Rozhik

How the West is helping Russia by banning long-range strikes/Collage by Channel 24

The recent Ukrainian strikes on Russian ammunition depots have demonstrated how much the West is helping Russia's military logistics while preventing it from striking deep into Russia. This is evident in satellite images of the arsenals before and after the attacks.

These images show severe damage to three major Russian ammunition depots following the Ukrainian attacks in September 2024. The Institute for the Study of War writes about this.

Images of Russian warehouses can be found online

All of these depots were inadequately protected. Even the Russians themselves complain that Google Maps and Yandex show such Russian facilities in high resolution.

Satellite images show severe damage to the depots in Oktyabrskoye, Toropets and Tikhoretsk. Dozens of buildings used to store ammunition, missiles, railway cars that were likely used to transport ammunition to the depots, and other materials that the Russians “accidentally left in the open” were destroyed.

This close placement of large quantities of materiel highlights the lack of operational security at Russia's rear supply depots, demonstrating the extent to which Western restrictions prohibiting Ukraine from firing Western weapons into Russia have given Russian commanders flexibility not to adequately protect their rear areas. This flexibility has given Russia the opportunity to optimize large logistical facilities for the transfer of mass equipment to Ukraine on a large scale, ISW notes.

Ukraine could take advantage of this vulnerability if the West lifted the restrictions on strikes against Russia.

ISW believes that Western states could impair Russia's ability to use its weapons as they currently do by lifting this restriction.

Consequences of attacks on ammunition depots in Russia/Satellite images Maxar