A Ukrainian serviceman prepares a M777 howitzer to fire among trees
A Ukrainian M777 howitzer firing toward Russian troops near the front-line town of Marinka, Ukraine, on December 26, 2023.
  • Russia appears to have captured the Ukrainian town of Marinka, in a win celebrated by Putin.
  • But the ISW group of experts said its capture is unlikely to give Russia a strategic advantage.
  • Russia needs to fix its issues with armored vehicle attacks but shows no signs of doing that, per the ISW.

Russia's likely capture of a town in eastern Ukraine won't give it any big strategic boost unless it can sort out its inability to fight with armored vehicles without sustaining huge losses, a group of experts said.