Hundreds of civilians have already died during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. But experts have warned that if Russia decided to engage in “urban warfare,” the death toll would quickly climb.
“In order to be able to survive in urban warfare, you need a lot of that logistical support and you need constant resupply of military personnel because of how heavy a casualty it is, and how brutal of a fight it is,” said Dr. Rita Konaev, a Research Fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology.
Urban warfare deviates from traditional tactics. It takes place in and around cities that are congested with buildings and people as opposed to a battlefield between two or more states in open confrontation.
“It also has typically a major ground operations component that includes artillery, so tanks and that type of offense as well,” Konaev said. “A major aspect of urban warfare is that it’s an infantry fight.”
Konaev believes urban warfare gives the advantage to the defender, where soldiers must navigate the close quarters of city streets and large buildings.
“Military operations in cities are very hard and complicated for the armed forces themselves, because they are vulnerable to snipers, they’re vulnerable to targeting from the taller buildings,” Konaev said.
Because of the stress urban warfare places on the aggressor, Konaev believes Russia will continue with much of what it has been doing in Ukraine, shelling Ukraine’s cities from afar.
“I think we have a long fight ahead of us, that is going to become increasingly more brutal.” she said.