Russia's summer offensive is failing just a few weeks after its start, despite massive attacks on several fronts, writes The Telegraph, analyzing the current situation on the front line in the war against Ukraine, BTA reports.
According to the publication, Russian forces are conducting a record number of offensive operations, but despite the intensity of the actions, these attacks are not leading to significant successes.
The offensive covers a wide front - from Sumy and Kharkiv regions to the lines of combat operations in Donetsk and Dnepropetrovsk regions. During the winter, Moscow significantly increased the number of its troops, improved its tactics and strengthened coordination between missile and drone strikes. This has led to some gains, particularly in the area between Pokrovsk and Kostyantynivka in Donetsk region. However, the pace of the offensive has slowed sharply.
Angelica Evans, an analyst at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), told The Telegraph that “the Russians really don’t have the opportunity to start something new and different right now.” According to her, the summer offensive is actually a continuation of the spring one.
In Sumy region, Russian forces have probably stopped their operations completely, the publication says.
A Ukrainian soldier fighting in the Kupyansk region claims that the Russian offensive in this sector has also stopped. Despite the numerical superiority of the Russian forces and the presence of drones, he said the Russian infantry was “extremely poorly trained, if at all“.
In its analysis of the Donetsk region, The Telegraph noted that the possible capture of Kostyantynivka would open the way for a Russian offensive towards the key cities of Kramatorsk and Slavyansk. However, given the current pace of the offensive and the insufficient training of the Russian troops, such a breakthrough seems unlikely.
“To capture Kramatorsk, they will need at least 100,000 more people“, commented a Ukrainian military source quoted by the newspaper.