Russia's World War II tactics likely to make its troops vulnerable in Ukraine, says UK MoD

UK Ministry of Defence on Friday stated that Russia is using 2nd World War tactics, which is likely to leave Russian troops in a vulnerable position in Ukraine. According to reports from Newsweek, Russia is building up trenches since withdrawal of its troops from Kherson. Most of se trenches are being built by town of Svatove in Luhansk region. UK ministry of defence said  entrenchment plan that Russia is following in Moscow-Kyiv war has not been used by western armies in deces. 

" construction of major defensive lines is furr illustration of Russia's reversion to positional warfare that has been largely abandoned by most modern Western militaries in recent deces," UK ministry of defence said.

ministry's assessment is that tactics, which are being used by Russian troops in  war, will render m vulnerable to precision strikes from Ukraine. battle in Bakhmut, which is being observed closely, has descended into trench warfare as well, highlighting how nature of war has changed. 

What is trench warfare and why did western nations abandon it?

Trench warfare is a of warfare that was primarily used during World War I and II. It involved use of trenches as defensive positions. It was characterized by use of defensive fortifications, such as barbed wire and machine gun emplacements, and use of artillery to attack enemy positions. Trench warfare was a brutal and costly form of warfare that resulted in high casualties on both sides.

After 2nd World War, modern western militaries wanted to minimise costs and casualties associated with warfare. In a book on history of warfare, military historian John Keegan writes that "trench warfare was a particularly costly form of warfare in terms of human lives and material resources", which is reason western nations moved away from it. Anor reason is impact of technological vances on warfare. In a paper published in journal 'Contemporary Security Policy', military expert Thomas Mahnken argued that " development of new weapons systems and tactics me trench warfare obsolete". He cites use of precision-guided munitions and unmanned aerial vehicles as examples of technologies that have me it possible to attack enemy positions from a distance, obviating need for soldiers to be in close proximity to enemy in trenches.