They were supposed to defend Moscow in the event of a war with NATO, they fled Kharkiv

Elements of the Russian troops that withdrew from the Kharkiv region last week came from the 1st Guards Tank Army (GTA), of the Western Military District (ZWO).

1 GTA They suffered heavy losses In the initial stage of the invasion and was not fully restored before the Ukrainian counterattack in Kharkiv. 1 GTA It was one of the oldest armies in RussiaIt aims to defend Moscow and aims to counterattack in the event of a war with NATO.

In view of the serious deterioration of the first GTA and other ZWO formations, the Russian conventional forces intended to counter NATO were severely weakened. It will likely take Russia years to rebuild this potential.”

The American Institute for War Studies also reported that Russians are fleeing occupied territories in Ukraine. Satellite images from the vicinity of Cherso show that all combat vehicles have disappeared from the Russian advanced positions, and that the vehicles that remained may be out of service.

The Institute of Higher Education also draws attention to the deterioration of morale among Russian soldiers. According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the Russian command has stopped sending new “volunteer units” already formed to Ukraine due to recent losses and widespread distrust of the leadership, which made A large number of volunteers categorically refused to fight – wrote in the report.