Moved to the realization of the goal: an expert explains the advancement of the Russian armed forces at the front
27 November 19:19
The Russian army is accelerating its offensive in eastern Ukraine: over the past week, the occupiers have seized almost 235 km² of territory, Reuters reports.
The thousand-kilometer-long front line had been largely static for two years, until the latest, smaller-scale advances that began in July. Now, Russian troops are advancing in Ukraine at the fastest pace since the first days of the invasion in 2022, occupying an area half the size of London in the last month.
Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) have also stated that the occupiers intend to capture the entire Donetsk region as soon as possible. Military expert Dmitry Snegirev explained what is happening on the front line and what the acceleration of the enemy’s offensive pace may indicate [to Kommersant ].
He noted that the enemy is indeed advancing along virtually the entire length of the Donetsk front. This means not only the Kurakhove and Pokrovsky directions, but also tactical successes in the Kupyansk, Lyman and Chasiv Yar directions.
“Therefore, we can say that the enemy has moved on to realize its goal of reaching the administrative borders of Donetsk region by January 20, 2025, the day of the inauguration of the newly elected US President, and then, using this factor de jure and de facto, demanding recognition of the occupied territories in Luhansk and Donetsk regions as Russian,” Snegiryov said.
At the same time, the expert drew attention to the fact that the enemy has sharply intensified its activities in the Zaporizhzhya sector. There are also certain negative trends in the Kherson sector.
“But if we talk about the Donetsk direction, what is happening is that the Ukrainian defense forces have actually retained control of several major agglomerations, industrial ones, in Donetsk region. These are Pokrovsk agglomeration and, accordingly, Toretsk, partially. And the main theater of hostilities is unfolding at the moment of taking control of these large industrial cities, and, accordingly, strengthening the negotiating positions of the occupying country,” the military expert explained.
He also named the factors that contributed to the intensification of Russian activity in the Donetsk region. In addition to external factors, it was also a numerical advantage in manpower and total air superiority. Thus, the Russian Armed Forces currently have a higher hit rate than the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In addition, we should not forget about internal factors that play into the hands of the occupiers. Namely, the actual absence of engineering and fortification structures.
“Despite the fact that the government has allocated approximately UAH 17 billion to the Donetsk Military-Civilian Administration. That is, the main complaints are about the poor quality of engineering and fortification structures, or their absence. This is the factor that, unfortunately, contributes to the occupier’s tactical successes in this area of the front,” summarized Dmytro Snegiryov.
