Russian army intensified its attack on Vuhledar. Pace will not slow down quickly - ISW
The Russian military is planning to capture Kurakhove and Vuhledar to "stretch" the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
According to Censor.NET, this is stated in a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The report states that "recently, Russian troops have stepped up their offensive efforts to eliminate a wide salient to the west and southwest of Donetsk, as well as to advance to and along the H-15 (Donetsk - Zaporizhzhia) highway".
The ISW believes that "coordinated Russian offensive operations from the southern flank in the Pokrovsk direction to the western flank of the Ukrainian defence around Vuhledar are likely to increase pressure on Ukrainian forces defending the western part of Donetsk region and create conditions for further success in Russia's priority offensive efforts in the Pokrovsk direction".
The intensification of Russian offensive operations near Vuhledar most likely does not mean that the pace of Russian offensive operations elsewhere in western Donetsk region will slow down in the near future.
Russian troops intensified their offensive operations near Vuhledar shortly after the expansion of the southern flank of the Pokrovsk salient began, suggesting that Russian forces intend to conduct mutually reinforcing offensives on the southern flank of the Pokrovsk salient, directly west of Donetsk along road 0-0532, and near Vuhledar.
The Russian occupation command likely aims to capture Kurakhove and Vuhledar to allow Russian forces to gain tactical advantages up and along the H-15 route more quickly, although Russian forces are likely to face difficulties.
The Russians likely intend to use this secondary effort, regardless of its success, to entrench Ukrainian forces in the western part of Donetsk region and prevent Ukrainian troops from redeploying to strengthen the defence of Pokrovsk.
"Russian troops will not be able to hold the initiative throughout eastern Ukraine for long, and the repeated intensification of offensive operations in the Donetsk region, in addition to the constant operational pressure caused by Ukraine's invasion of the Kursk region, will likely lead to the Russian offensive culminating earlier than the Russian military command plans," ISW added.
