Six Russian balloons had been noticed over Kyiv and most had been shot down after being engaged by air defences, the Ukrainian capital’s navy administration stated.

The balloons might have been carrying nook reflectors and reconnaissance gear, however officers didn’t specify after they flew over the capital, though air alerts had been issued in Kyiv on Wednesday.

“In response to data that’s now being clarified, these had been balloons that transfer within the air below the propulsion of wind,” the navy administration wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

“The aim of launching the balloons was probably to detect and exhaust our air defences.”

Shortly earlier than the announcement, Ukrainian air power spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat stated Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February of final yr, may very well be utilizing balloons in a brand new drive to protect its shares of reconnaissance drones.

“Reconnaissance drones just like the Orlan-10 at the moment are getting used extra sparingly [by Russia], they usually thought, ‘Why don’t we use these balloons?’ So they’re utilizing them,” Ihnat advised Ukrainian tv.

He later confirmed that air raid sirens blared within the capital on Wednesday due to balloons flying overhead.

Russia didn’t instantly touch upon the stories of balloons over Kyiv.

‘Inflicted appreciable attrition’

Apart from a scarcity of drones, Russia has misplaced about half of its battle tanks because the invasion of Ukraine a yr in the past, a report by the Worldwide Institute for Strategic Research (IISS) stated.

However the analysis centre additionally famous on Wednesday that Moscow has preserved its air power largely intact and might deploy it extra actively within the subsequent section of the battle.

In its annual Navy Steadiness report, a key reference device for defence consultants, IISS stated loss charges for a few of Russia’s most trendy lessons of tank had been as excessive as 50 %, forcing it to depend on older Soviet-era fashions.

The institute’s Ben Barry, a land warfare skilled, stated the gear losses had been “fairly severe” for Russia’s navy.

He famous each the Norwegian and Estonian intelligence companies not too long ago launched a report saying the instant menace to their nations is “vastly lowered” due to the best way the Ukraine battle “has sucked in Russian forces and inflicted appreciable attrition on them”.

“However we must always bear in mind a lot of the Russian air power – and out of doors the Black Sea a lot of the Russian navy – stays extant. When intelligence businesses say Russia continues to be a transparent and current hazard to Western Europe, I believe they’re proper,” Barry advised Al Jazeera.

‘Much less assured’

Henry Boyd, a analysis fellow at IISS, estimated Russia’s tank losses to be between 2,000 and a couple of,300, and Ukraine’s to be as much as 700.

Ukraine has secured guarantees of about 100 trendy Western tanks, together with the US Abrams, the German Leopard, and the British Challenger, whose capabilities far exceed that of older Russian fashions.

“Which will effectively then translate by way of to much less aggressive and fewer assured [Russian] tank actions as crews are extra involved in regards to the menace stage offered to them,” Boyd stated.

Ukraine’s air power, in the meantime, has suffered a 28 % attrition charge, the report stated.

IISS aerospace skilled Douglas Barrie stated Russia had preserved its air power principally unscathed, working at a distance due to efficient Ukrainian air defences and an undersupply of tactical short-range air-to-surface missiles.

‘One other bloody yr’

However Barrie stated Russia might look to make use of air energy extra actively, and doubtlessly take extra dangers to hit any concentrations of Ukrainian forces on the bottom.

“One of many challenges from a Ukrainian perspective is that if they do both need to repel a big Russian floor power or mass their very own forces … you permit your self weak to air assault,” he stated. “At that time, the Russians would possibly resolve they’re going to take better losses simply to inflict but better losses on the opposite aspect.”

As Russia intensifies its assaults forward of the one-year invasion anniversary, Barry stated he was sceptical its forces could make main progress.

“My evaluation is it’s going to search out it troublesome to pay attention sufficient credible and competent power to push the Ukrainians again a lot,” he stated. “[But] it’s not clear to me that Kyiv has sufficient fight energy to quickly eject Russian forces … We are able to count on one other bloody yr.”