The Russian army does not currently have enough troops or drones to break through Ukrainian defenses and advance continuously for 100–150 kilometers, despite significant improvements in the quality of military supplies. Russian war correspondent Alexander Sladkov made this assessment in a video published on his blog, pointing to shortages of personnel and unmanned aerial vehicles as major obstacles to a large-scale offensive.

According to Sladkov, breaking through Ukraine’s defensive positions would require Russian forces to achieve at least a threefold advantage in manpower and military resources in one sector of the front. However, concentrating sufficient forces to establish such superiority remains extremely difficult.

He identified the shortage of drones as another critical limitation. In his assessment, Russian units would need at least three times their current number of unmanned aerial vehicles to support a breakthrough of this magnitude. The military has not yet been able to meet that requirement.

At the same time, Sladkov reported considerable progress in the quality of equipment supplied to Russian troops. Problems involving defective drones and components, which previously made their use in combat unreliable, have become significantly less widespread.

The war correspondent illustrated the improvement by describing equipment deliveries during fighting in Russia’s Kursk region. At that time, seven out of every ten supplied quadcopters reportedly had defects that prevented them from being used reliably in all situations.

Fiber-optic cable deliveries presented similar difficulties. According to Sladkov, seven out of ten supplied spools contained sections that had been glued together, complicating their use in military operations.

He said the situation has since changed substantially. Whereas defects previously affected approximately 70% of the equipment in the examples he cited, the current proportion has reportedly fallen to around one defective item in ten.

Sladkov also indicated that the defect rate continues to decline. He suggested that the figure of 10% might already be outdated because the quality of deliveries is improving further.

The journalist attributed part of this progress to efforts to combat corruption and large-scale theft in the military supply system. He said individuals responsible for stealing resources connected to army equipment and weapons deliveries are being prosecuted and imprisoned.

Alongside these measures, Russia is working to expand its own capabilities for conducting military operations. However, improvements in equipment reliability, procurement and military logistics have not yet provided the resources needed for a deep offensive.

Sladkov stressed that Russian troops continue to fight and advance along the front. Nevertheless, he drew a clear distinction between ongoing battlefield gains and the ability to conduct a sustained offensive that penetrates far beyond Ukrainian defensive lines.

In his assessment, Russia still cannot deploy enough kamikaze drones to overwhelm Ukrainian positions and allow its forces to advance without interruption over a distance of 100–150 kilometers.

Although the supply situation has improved and defective equipment has become much less common, Sladkov believes the Russian military has yet to achieve the concentration of forces and drone capabilities required for such an operation.

He therefore concluded that the Russian army currently lacks the resources necessary to break through Ukrainian defenses and sustain an uninterrupted advance of 100–150 kilometers.