Russian war of aggression
ISW: Russia can choose a direction for the further offensive
A destroyed cultural center near Avdiivka: Russia has been waging its war of aggression against Ukraine for two years. photo
© Alex Babenko/AP/dpa
The Ukrainian defenders fail to stabilize the front west of Avdiivka. According to US military experts, the Russian armed forces are now spoiled for choice as to what to do next.
According to US military experts, Russia’s armed forces can now choose their further direction of attack thanks to previous successes in the eastern Ukrainian Donbass region.
To the west of the recently conquered small town of Avdiivka, there are now several tactical options for Moscow to expand the offensive, the experts from the ISW think tank in Washington wrote on Monday evening (local time). The Russian command has the choice of either pushing further west into the industrial city of Pokrovsk or turning north to intensify the attack on Chasiv Yar.
Russia has been waging its war of aggression against Ukraine for two years. Due to slow deliveries of ammunition and weapons, but also an increasing shortage of soldiers, the defenders have been on the defensive over the last six months. After the loss of the small town of Avdiivka, which was converted into a fortress, west of the regional capital Donetsk and which has been controlled by pro-Russian forces since 2014, the front is moving. While in the previous months it was a case of gaining a few hundred meters of ground, the Russian troops have advanced 15 kilometers since February and have occupied numerous other cities.
The Ukrainians are also under pressure north of there in the Bakhmut region. According to information from Kiev, the Russian military leadership wants to declare a success the capture of the city of Khasiv Yar on Victory Day on May 9th – the most important holiday for Russia to commemorate the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
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