Russian forces highly likely continue to struggle when fighting at night. Numerous reports from combatants have highlighted this trend since the start of the war. In late November 2023, a social media user claiming to be a russian soldier serving in Kherson highlighted the shortage of night vision goggles (NVGs) and low-light cameras for unmanned aerial vehicles, the UK Defense Intelligence reports.
NVGs have frequently featured high in the lists of equipment russian units request from their families and supporters. Ukrainian forces have often been equipped with night vision devices from international partners.
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There is also likely a cultural element to russia’s problem: russian military training has rarely emphasized night exercises, instead typically building towards set-piece, daylight events to impress visiting senior officers. In contrast, the russian soldier claimed Ukrainian forces “move mostly at night”.
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