Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Major General Mykhailo Drapati is creating new operational commands for the defense of the Donetsk region. Their main goal is to stop the Russian offensive.
This is noted by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The Ukrainian news outlet "Hromadske" quoted a source from the Ukrainian General Staff, who said that the priority of the new formations is to stop the offensive of Russian forces. On August 26, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced the creation of two new formations to support Ukrainian defense in the Donetsk region.
"Hromadske" announced on September 1 that the formation, which will be commanded by Brigadier General Andriy Biletsky, will have an area of responsibility stretching from the Liman direction to the Kramatorsk-Kostyantinovka area in the "Fortress Belt".
On the other hand, the formation under the command of Brigadier General Denis Prokopenko will have an area of responsibility in the Dobropilya sector to the south.
On August 31, Putin carried out a large-scale restructuring of Russian law enforcement agencies, probably in preparation for a possible mobilization after the State Duma elections.
The Russian president dismissed 13 Russian officials.
In addition, Putin has appointed 15 Russian officials to various law enforcement structures.
If confirmed, such a redistribution of law enforcement forces would be significant, especially considering that it affects officials responsible for Kursk and Penza regions, which could be particularly vulnerable to civil unrest in the event of a possible mobilization.
ISW observes that Russian law enforcement officials have been conducting forced recruitment operations in the Penza and Kursk regions since at least June 2026.
The Kremlin has set conditions for the forced call-up of reservists since at least October 2025, although the presence of such conditions does not mean that Putin himself has made a decision to conduct a mobilization.
ISW continues to believe that any forced mobilization is Putin’s personal decision and depends on his assessment of battlefield realities and regime stability.