"The exhaustion of US-provided air defenses resulting from delays in the resumption of US military assistance to Ukraine combined with improvements in Russian strike tactics have led to increasing effectiveness of the Russian strike campaign in Ukraine," the US think tank said in a new report.
It added: "Without substantial and regular security assistance to Ukraine, Russian strikes threaten to constrain Ukraine’s long-term warfighting capabilities and set operational conditions for Russia to achieve significant gains on the battlefield."
The ISW assessed that Ukraine "requires significant provisions of Western air defense systems and fighter jets capable of intercepting drones and missiles in order to establish a combined air defense umbrella that is even remotely as effective as the one Israel and its allies successfully used on April 13."
Recent large-scale Russian strikes using drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles against Ukraine have caused significant damage to Ukrainian energy infrastructure, the ISW said in its latest analysis of Russia's military campaign in Ukraine.
It highlighted "the need for an effective and well-provisioned air defense umbrella capable of a sustained high rate of interception."
The ISW cited Ukrainian Deputy Energy Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk as saying that successful Russian strikes in the past few weeks have destroyed a year's worth of Ukraine's efforts to repair its energy facilities.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, starting the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II.
Monday is day 782 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
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Source: IAR, PAP, understandingwar.org