Russia is preparing for an attack. The air force is gathering supplies

For three weeks, the Russians have been holding back on air attacks against Ukraine. The British Ministry of Defense believes this is linked to stockpiling reserves ahead of another offensive planned by Moscow for the winter.

The Russian Long-Range Aviation has not conducted any attacks on Ukraine since September 21, which means it has been 21 days since then. The British Ministry of Defense conveyed information on Friday, suggesting that the break in military action might be due to Russia stockpiling missiles, likely preparing to resume attacks during the winter period.

In the latest daily intelligence update, it was emphasized that pauses in military operations are not unusual. The last such pause in attacks occurred between March 9th and April 28th, 2023, Eastern Time, and lasted 51 days. At that time, the DA had likely almost used up its stock of AS-23 rocket ammunition, which was heavily used during the winter campaign against Ukraine's key infrastructure.

"This time, it is likely that the Russian DA is conserving existing AS-23 missile stocks, as well as using this break to increase operational stocks, anticipating further heavy attacks on Ukraine in the winter period" - the British Ministry of Defence writes on Twitter.

The intelligence report also indicates that Russia has focused its recent air raids on facilities associated with grain production in southern Ukraine. It used Iranian kamikaze drones Shahed for this. These attacks covered Ukrainian ports on the Danube, which due to their proximity to the border with Romania, likely required a high level of precision. As noted, Russia probably decided to use Shaheds because of their greater accuracy compared to missiles fired from the air.