Russia ‘struggling to repair thousands of combat vehicles’ damaged in Ukraine, says UK

Russia is struggling to repair “thousands of combat vehicles” that have been damaged during the Ukraine invasion, according to an update by British defence chiefs.

The Ministry of Defence said a Russian military vehicle refit and refurbishment facility had been identified near Barvinok, in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast.

The facility, located around six miles from the Ukrainian border, was spotted by intelligence on July 18.

Present on the site were at least 300 damaged vehicles, including main battle tanks, armoured personnel carriers and general support trucks, the update said.

“Russia likely continues to struggle to extract and repair the thousands of combat vehicles which have been damaged in action in Ukraine,” it said.

The intelligence report, released on Twitter on Monday, added there were also “well documented personnel problems” plaguing the Russian army, including low morale and conscription.

It comes as “inconclusive fighting” continues in both the Donbas and Kherson regions of Ukraine.

Kherson city, in the country’s south, fell into Russian hands earlier in the invasion and sits on a strategic location west of the Dnipro river.

On Saturday, heavy fighting was reported near Kherson.

The Ukrainian army has launched a counter-offensive in the occupied region and there are hopes to re-capture it by September, according to a Ukrainian official.

“We can say that the Kherson region will definitely be liberated by September, and all the occupiers’ plans will fail,” Serhiy Khlan, an aide to the head of the Kherson region, said on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the Donbas has remained at the heart of Russia’s military strategy as it continues to launch missile strikes in Ukraine’s eastern region.

This has led Russian commanders to “continue to face a dilemma,” the intelligence update said.

Now they must decide “whether to resource the offensive in the east, or to bolster the defence in the west”.

Recently, Russia’s foreign minister Sergei Lavrov announced the Kremlin’s military goals in Ukraine go further than capturing the Donbas.

In an interview, Mr Lavrov said Russia’s focus was now “not only about” the self-proclaimed ‘People’s Republics’ of Donetsk and Luhansk.

He said: “The geography is different now. It is not only about the DNR and LNR, but also the Kherson region, the Zaporizhia region and a number of other territories.

“This process is continuing, consistently and persistently.”