Support for Russia would boost the invading armies in Ukraine – and allow China to test weapons systems as it menaces Taiwan
As Ukraine faces down a Russian offensive – and lays the groundwork for an expected fightback of its own in spring – focus is once again turning to whether either side has the capability for a decisive breakthrough.
Despite mass mobilisation and a decision to pull increasingly elderly vehicles out of storage, Russia is still running low on the materiel it needs.
Analysts believe it is continuing to burn through an unsustainable number of artillery shells as it grinds forward around the devastated city of Bakhmut. Even supplies of Iranian kamikaze drones appear to have run short.
