A real slaughter of Russians. The last day was a real nightmare
Ukrainians and Russians inflict serious losses on each other every day. The last day brought the defenders' army several successful operations, which resulted in a significant reduction in Putin's army's possessions. Analysts are noting the rapidly shrinking supplies of the invaders' artillery systems.
8:56 PM EDT, October 23, 2023
According to reports regularly published by the Ukrainian armed forces, the last day has brought significant losses to the Russians in terms of soldiers and equipment. Almost 800 soldiers were killed or injured, and the Ukrainians attributed as many as 16 more tanks and 55 armored vehicles, as well as five artillery systems and four drones, to the list of destroyed equipment.
The Ukrainian portal Defence Express has drawn attention to data published by an OSINT analyst and researcher, who shares his observations on the X social platform (formerly Twitter). From his analysis based on available information and satellite images, it appears that the Russians have significantly depleted their stock of 2S9 Nona-S artillery systems.
In 2021, the Russians had a total of over 400 Nona-S systems in their warehouses. Now their number has dropped to about 286, meaning in just under two years of war in Ukraine, the invaders had to reactivate about 130 of these systems. That is about 31 percent of the entire stock.
According to Military Balance in 2022, the Russians had about 500 units of 2S9 Nona-S in their bases. It's possible that about 80 additional vehicles of this type are hidden in places not visible from a satellite (e.g., under the roofs of buildings). This suggests that the Russians' holdings are somewhat larger. On the other hand, one can wonder about the condition of units stored in the open air. Not all of them may be ready for immediate use.
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Although the 2S9 Nona-S is equipment that harks back to the times of the USSR, it still enjoys a good reputation among Russians. It is capable of inflicting severe damage on Ukrainians because it utilizes a 120 mm caliber cannon. Depending on the type of munition used, it can hit targets at a distance ranging from a few to several miles. In addition, it is self-propelled artillery, its track design and a 322 horsepower engine allow the crew to easily move even in difficult terrain.
The problems of the Russians with artillery systems, according to analysts, are also indicated by increasingly appearing on the front units, which the Russians did not use before. The rare 2S31 Vena mortar has already been recorded in Ukraine, and recently a new artillery system, the 2S40 Phlox, was used.