ISW: Russia prepares new tactics for summer and autumn offensives in Ukraine

Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) have suggested that Russian forces are preparing to systematically integrate the use of motorcycles in the war against Ukraine to "offset adept Ukrainian drone capabilities".

Source: ISW

Quote: "Russia is likely preparing to systematically integrate motorcycle usage into offensive operations in Ukraine for Summer and Autumn 2025, likely to offset adept Ukrainian drone capabilities."

Details: Analysts note that on 26 April, Russia's Ministry of Defence released a video showing soldiers from the 299th regiment of the 98th division of the Russian Airborne Forces practising offensive and defensive tactics on motorcycles, operating in pairs or small groups at a Russian training ground.

Quote: "The video indicates that the Russian military is likely developing a tactical doctrine for systematic offensive motorcycle usage and may be preparing to issue an increased number of motorcycles to Russian personnel in Ukraine."

Details: Lieutenant Colonel Pavlo Shamshyn, spokesman for Ukraine's Kharkiv Group of Forces, reported that, based on Ukrainian intelligence data, Russian forces are training their soldiers in motorcycle combat tactics. This indicates that Russia is likely to increasingly use motorcycles in offensive operations in Ukraine during the summer and autumn of 2025.

Shamshyn noted that motorcycles allow Russian troops to increase speed and manoeuvrability, which is crucial for avoiding Ukrainian drone strikes. However, the loud noise of the motorcycle prevents the driver from hearing the approach of Ukrainian drones.

Quote: "ISW has observed an increased trend of Russian units conducting mechanised and combined motorised assaults and transporting infantry with motorcycles and civilian vehicles throughout the front line as Russian command continues to adapt its tactics to offset Ukrainian drone strikes and likely to mitigate the Russian military's equipment constraints resulting from high armoured vehicle losses in summer and early autumn 2024."

To quote the ISW’s Key Takeaways on 26 April:

• Russian Chief of the General Staff Army General Valery Gerasimov claimed on 26 April that Russian forces pushed all Ukrainian forces from Kursk Oblast.
• Ukraine's August 2024 incursion into Kursk Oblast successfully pinned some Russian combat power, including elite airborne (VDV) and naval infantry units, but its long-term effects remain unclear at this time.
• Gerasimov made the first official Russian acknowledgement of North Korean troop participation in Russian operations in Kursk Oblast by thanking North Korean servicemembers for their assistance in Russian efforts to push Ukrainian forces out of the region.
• US President Donald Trump stated that the United States is no longer pursuing a concrete deadline for achieving a resolution to the war in Ukraine – a departure from the administration’s previously stated goal of ending the war within its first 100 days.
• Russia is likely preparing to systematically integrate motorcycle usage into offensive operations in Ukraine for summer and autumn 2025, likely to offset adept Ukrainian drone capabilities.
• Ukrainian forces recently advanced near Pokrovsk. Russian forces recently advanced near Novopavlivka, Kurkakhove and Velyka Novosilka.

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