The Russians are advancing in several places: ISW explained what the enemies are trying to achieve
Date: 2023-11-15 Author: Кирило Загоруйко Categories: WAR
The Russian occupiers are likely trying to regain the initiative on the Ukrainian battlefield by conducting multiple simultaneous offensive operations on the Eastern Front. However, it is not yet clear whether they will be able to fully restore the initiative when the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to put pressure on critical sectors of the front.
According to ISW analysts, citing Ukrainian officials, the situation along the front line is complex, but the Defense Forces maintain control of the battle space.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Valery Zaluzhny, on November 13, during a conversation with the head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Charles Brown, said that the Avdiivskoye, Kupyanskoye and Maryinskoye directions are the most intense, but Ukrainian troops continue offensive operations in unspecified sectors of the front.
The Commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, Colonel General Alexander Syrsky, also noted that the enemy is conducting simultaneous offensive operations in several directions and is trying to restore the initiative north and south of Bakhmut.
According to President Vladimir Zelensky, Ukrainian troops are recording an increase in Russian shelling in the Kupyansky, Avdeevsky and Donetsk directions.
“Statements by Ukrainian officials regarding the current pace of Russian operations on the front line are consistent with ISW’s assessment of ongoing Russian offensive operations, in particular in the Kupyansky, Bakhmutsky and Avdeevsky directions,” the experts added.
In their opinion, it will likely be difficult for the occupying forces to fully regain the initiative in the theater, while the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue their own offensive operations and achieve successes at the tactical level along the front, in particular in the Western Zaporozhye region and on the left bank of the Kherson region.
As ISW notes, Russian military commanders will likely have to decide whether to maintain certain elements of their forces on certain sectors of the front to defend against ongoing Ukrainian offensive operations, or redeploy them to support offensive operations elsewhere that may end without reinforcements.
"These decisions are likely to hamper Russia's ability to fully regain initiative in the coming weeks," the analysts concluded.
