Counter-offensive of the Ukrainians: here the Russian troops are now coming under pressure Cassis meets EU Commissioner Sefcovic on July 18 in Brussels

The Ukrainian forces are apparently making progress with their counter-offensive – and experts see two key areas where the Russian forces are coming under pressure.

On the one hand, it is about Bakhmut, the symbolic place that Russia conquered in May and completely destroyed after months of costly fighting. The US Institute for War Studies (ISW) evaluated imagery showing that the Ukrainians had made significant tactical gains near the village of Yahidne, two kilometers north of Bakhmut.

The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces were conducting offensive operations north and south of Bakhmut. A spokesman said partial success had been achieved in Klishchiivka, a village seven kilometers southwest of Bakhmut. They have also regained control of unspecified previously lost positions in the Bakhmut area, according to the Commander of the Land Forces, Colonel General Olexander Syrskyj.

Experts: Russia has hardly any reserves with Bakhmut

According to military experts from the British Ministry of Defence, Russia has few reserves to strengthen the sector around Bakhmut. This is evident from the daily report on Saturday. Accordingly, fighting there in the past seven days has again been among the fiercest on the entire front, having temporarily subsided in June.

“The Russian defenders are most likely struggling with low morale, irregulars and a limited ability to find and hit Ukrainian artillery,” the statement said.

However, the Russian leadership considers it politically unacceptable to give up Bakhmut, one of the few Russian territorial gains in the past twelve months.

Troops moved south

The ISW experts also see Russian weaknesses in another area: the front in the south. The Russian army appears to have moved its entire eastern battlegroup to southern Ukraine. This indicates that Russian defenses in southern Ukraine could be vulnerable. The experts also quote from a report by Ukrainian military observer Konstantin Mashovets, according to which the Russian army maintains only a small, weak reserve in southern Ukraine.

Experts estimate that Ukrainians could break through the defenses. “Russian defenses in southern Ukraine, while formidable, are not impregnable,” they write.

If Ukraine manages to break through the defenses, it could put Russian troops in a difficult position. “The withdrawal in contact is an extremely difficult military task and it is unclear whether the Russian troops in contact will be able to successfully withdraw from their first lines to other prepared lines,” the report said. This is especially true when the armed forces are exhausted.

This is exactly what the tactics of the Ukrainian army are currently aiming for. On July 4, officials said that the main task of the Ukrainian armed forces at the moment is to destroy Russian personnel, equipment, fuel depots, artillery and air defenses. The ISW concluded at the time that it was more important for Ukraine to wear down Russian troops than to gain ground quickly with major maneuvers.

In the south in particular, the Ukrainian army is said to have increasingly attacked with the multiple rocket launcher Himar. You can see how precise the attacks are in the video from T-Online.

Sources

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(t-online/dsc)