Putin fighting 'logistics war' to keep forces armed

Head of British military says Russian leader is in a rush to declare victory

A destroyed Russian tank outside the village council building in Sloboda, Ukraine. Reuters

President Vladimir Putin is engaged in a “logistics war” to keep his forces in firepower, the head of the British military has said.

After 10 weeks of fighting, the rate at which Russian forces are using missiles and other armaments is making it difficult to keep them supplied, according to Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, Chief of the Defence Staff.

“He potentially has a problem, because the rate of expenditure and the toughness of the fight is totally different to the one that he perceived on February 24,” Admiral Radakin said.

“We’re talking severe impact on their armed forces. We’ve had 25 per cent of their forces effectively being taken out — either through people being killed or through the damage to their battalion tactical groups.”

In an interview with TalkTV’s The News Desk, Admiral Radakin said there was “incredible pressure” in Russia for the campaign to deliver results and Mr Putin is in a rush to claim victory despite his forces' continued struggle for momentum.

On Wednesday, Ukraine said Russia was planning to hold a Victory Day military parade in the besieged city of Mariupol as part of the country’s celebrations marking victory over the Nazis in the Second World War.

Russians celebrate Victory Day every year on May 9 with military parades and public events commemorating the anniversary of the Soviet Union's defeat of Nazi Germany.

A Russian artillery vehicle is driven along Tverskaya Street towards Red Square to attend a rehearsal for the May 9 Victory Day military parade in Moscow, Russia. AP

Russian soldiers march in their rehearsal for the parade, that will celebrate the 77th anniversary of the 1945 victory over Nazi Germany. AFP

Muscovites watch Russian heavy weapons make their way to Red Square. EPA

A Russian artilleryman in his vehicle on Tverskaya Street. EPA

Onlookers watch the heavy military vehicles drive through Moscow. EPA

Russian soldiers clean their vehicle before the rehearsal. AP

A Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile system on its way to Red Square. AP

Self-propelled artillery vehicles, tanks and pther military vehicles gather on Tverskaya Street for the parade rehearsal. AP

A column of Russian S-400 Triumf missile systems drives along the Garden Ring road towards Red Square. AFP

Armoured cars fly the red flag. AP

Russian Ilyushin IL-76MD military transport planes fly over Red Square during a rehearsal for a flypast as part of the victory parade. AFP

Russian Ilyushin IL-76MD military transport planes fly over Red Square during a rehearsal for a flypast as part of the victory parade. AFP

Russian Tu-22M3 bombers fly in formation above a church in Moscow. Reuters

Russian Su-25 jet aircraft release smoke in the colours of the Russian state flag during the rehearsal for the flypast. Reuters

However, Admiral Radakin said while there were “real risks” the Russians could gain ground in the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine — the new focus of their offensive — he said they had little time to make the improvements needed after they were driven back from the capital Kyiv.

“You’re also seeing, on a daily basis, Russia struggling to get the momentum, struggling to align its air forces with its land forces and struggling to get what we call a modern campaign which creates that momentum,” he said.

He said the Russians were in for a “hard slog” and questioned whether the “rushed manner” in which Mr Putin was seeking to achieve victory would succeed.

“I think what we’re now seeing is incredible pressure — political pressure and military pressure — for a victory,” he said.

“This is going to be a tough fight. And it’s going to carry on being a tough fight. This is going to be a hard slog.

“You’re seeing the tactical fight, where he’s trying to rush to a tactical victory, and then he’ll push that with his own people.”

Separately, Admiral Radakin confirmed UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace had warned Chancellor Rishi Sunak that rising inflation and the need to arm Ukraine meant the UK could miss its commitment to spend 2 per cent of national income on defence.

Mr Wallace reportedly wrote to the Chancellor before the Spring Statement in March to say that the Nato spending target was in jeopardy but had received no reply.

“We’re a big-spending department and we have regular conversations at all levels with the Treasury,” Admiral Radakin said.

Family members mourn at the graveside of soldier Yuri Varyanytsia during the burial of three soldiers in the Field of Mars at Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine. Getty Images

A pedestrian takes a picture as she walks past the wreckage of a Russian armoured vehicle outside the National Museum of Military History of Ukraine in Kyiv. AFP

A man rides his bicycle over a heavily damaged bridge near Pechenegi village in the Kharkiv region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP

Pro-Russian troops fire from a tank near the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. Reuters

Workers sew uniforms and material for flack jackets at a military clothing factory in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. Getty Images

A dog provides company at a flat damaged by a missile attack in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP

Patron, a dog trained by Ukrainian forces to sniff out explosives, near Kyiv. EPA

Lone skater Roman Kovalenko, 18, amid the damage at Peace Square in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. All of his friends have fled. AFP

A Ukrainian sapper carries unexploded materiel during demining works at an airport in the town of Hostomel, north-west of Kyiv. AFP

Shelling of the Azovstal steel plant complex in Mariupol. Reuters

Violinist Irene Duval rehearses before a fundraiser to support Ukrainians arriving in the UK, at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in London. PA

A serviceman stands guard at the destroyed Ukrainian Antonov An-225 'Mriya' cargo aircraft in Hostomel. AFP

Galina Malets falls to her knees before the funeral service for her brother, fallen soldier Igor Malets, 59, in Lviv. Getty

Explosions at the Azovstal steel plant in besieged Mariupol, where Ukrainian forces continue to hold out against Russian invaders. AFP

A Ukrainian woman collects her belongings after her apartment was damaged by a missile explosion in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP

An apartment block damaged by a missile explosion in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP

Devastation around an apartment block hit by a missile in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP

Ukrainian men at the site of a missile explosion in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP

An elderly refugee from Avdiivka, eastern Ukraine, at a lunch provided by church group Awakening in Pokrovsk. AFP

Natalia Rudneva, 59, was injured in overnight shelling in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, that put her son in hospital. AP

Shocked occupants of an apartment building in Kramatorsk, Donbas, that was destroyed by overnight shelling . AP

A man outside his house in Mariupol, in territory under the government of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, eastern Ukraine. The sign reads 'Bomb shelter, children'. AP

A woman passes Donetsk People's Republic militia tanks in Mariupol, eastern Ukraine. AP

A refugee camp outside Mariupol, in territory controlled by the government of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic. AP

The damaged St Godmothers Cover Church next to a bullet-riddled Ukrainian flag in Malyn, Ukraine. Getty Images

St Godmothers Cover Church, in Malyn, Ukraine. Getty Images

The ruins of an apartment building in Borodianka, Ukraine. Getty Images

Firefighters from the self-declared Donetsk People Republic Emergency Situations Ministry battle a blaze at an oil depot after missiles struck the facility in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Makiivka, 15 kilometres east of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. AP

People wait for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to begin a speech televised on a screen in City Hall Square in Copenhagen, Denmark. Reuters

An aerial view of the destroyed Hotel Ukraine in the northern city of Chernigiv. AFP

A woman who recently lost her husband arrives with her dog at a charity centre in Pokrovsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP

A family of Ukrainian evacuees near a donation collection point in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Reuters

The ruins of a residential building in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernigiv, which was heavily damaged during the Russian invasion. AFP

People pay their respects during the funeral for Ukrainian serviceman Ruslan Borovyk in St Michael's Cathedral in Kyiv. AP

Crew chiefs and engineers with the 158th Fighter Wing meet before launching F-35A Lightning II fifth-generation aircraft at the Vermont Air National Guard Base, South Burlington, US. More than 200 Vermont air guard personnel, plus equipment and eight F-35s, are now in Europe. AP

Svitlana, 36, holds her sons Artem, 7, and Kyrylo, 5, while sheltering in a kindergarten in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. Getty Images

Men report to enlist in Ukrainian Territorial Defence Force units in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. Getty Images

A burning oil storage unit on the outskirts of Donetsk, Ukraine. Reuters

Russian MiG-29SMT jet fighters, forming the symbol Z in support of Russian military action in Ukraine, fly over Red Square in Moscow during a rehearsal for the Second World War Victory Parade on May 9, 2022. AFP

A warehouse after shelling in Severodonetsk, as fighting rages across Ukraine's east after a US warning that Moscow is preparing to formally annex eastern regions. AFP

Katya, 11, waits for her mother's treatment to end at the Severodonetsk Hospital in Severodonetsk. AFP

Antonina, 60, at a funeral home where she works and now lives with neighbours in Severodonetsk. AFP

A Russian serviceman patrols a street near the sea port of Berdyansk, Ukraine. AFP

A woman during the rally in front of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office in Kyiv. AFP

Svitlana Karpenko, 53, at what is left of her house in Sloboda, Chernihiv region, Ukraine. She said it was destroyed by shelling. Reuters

The turret from a destroyed Russian tank stuck in the ground in Zalissia, Kyiv region, Ukraine. Reuters

Lyubov Lenko, 61, in front of her house in Budy, Chernihiv region, Ukraine, that she says was destroyed by shelling. Reuters

Nina Stefuryak, 2, playing in a park in front of a building destroyed by shelling in Borodianka, Kyiv region, Ukraine. Reuters

Mealtime at a centre for displaced people in Zaporizhzhia. AP

Volunteers assist a man after his arrival from Mariupol at a centre for displaced people in Zaporizhzhia. AP

People disembark a van to be registered by police after arriving in Zaporizhzhia. Getty Images

Firefighters damp down the ashes of a fire that destroyed a children's play area in Gorky Park in Kharkiv, Ukraine. EPA

A woman touches a piano as she inspects the damage in a classroom after shelling at Kharkiv National Kotlyarevsky University of Arts. EPA

US President Joe Biden and Lockheed Martin chief executive Jim Taiclet with Javelin anti-tank missile assembly workers during a tour of a Lockheed Martin weapons factory in Troy, Alabama, US. Reuters

Residents collect humanitarian aid in Borodyanka, Ukraine. Getty Images

“The defence secretary writing to the Chancellor to say this is our view of where defence spending is going, I think is pretty normal business.

“At the moment, under this spending review, we’re above 2 per cent through the whole period. And then it starts to peter off, I think, in 2024/25.

“At the moment the trajectory is going up and then it gets really close staying above 2 per cent. Then that needs to be a fresher conversation, because the ambition of this government is to stay above 2 per cent.”

— The full interview with Admiral Radakin is broadcast on Talk TV at 7pm on Thursday.