According to military experts: Russian winter offensive in Donbass failed

Western military experts say Russia’s winter offensive in eastern Ukraine has failed. The American Institute for War Studies (ISW) in Washington wrote that the objectives of completely capturing the Donetsk and Luhansk regions had not been achieved. The analysts therefore expect a new restructuring of the Russian command structures for the war against Ukraine in the short term.

The chief of staff, Valeri Gerasimov, who was appointed commander of troops in the war zone in January, fell short of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin’s expectations, it said. He could hardly show any territorial gains.

Putin had already changed commanders several times. According to ISW, March 31 was the target date for Gerasimov to conquer the entire Donbass.

In Russia there are warnings of defeat

The experts justify the failure with the lack of combat effectiveness of the Russian troops. In the Donetsk region, fighting, which has been going on for months, continued to focus on the strategic city of Bakhmut and the region. There is no end in sight to this bloodiest battle of the war yet. Russia has repeatedly stated that it is preparing for a long war over Western arms supplies to Ukraine.

According to Russian military bloggers, Moscow forces should take Bakhmut and Avdiivka in preparation for the spring offensive of Ukrainian forces expected in April. The bloggers who observe and analyze the actions of the Russian troops have recently intensified their criticism of the military leadership in Moscow. As before, the public statements of these ultra-nationalists are likely to influence Putin’s decisions.

The newly founded nationalist “Club of Angry Patriots” in Russia criticized the corrupt military leadership and elite in Moscow in a video. The initiators call for urgent action. Among them is former Russian intelligence officer Igor Girkin, who led the 2014 uprising of pro-Moscow separatists in eastern Ukraine under the pseudonym Igor Strelkov. He now warned of defeat in the war against Ukraine. (sda/dpa)