Donbas, Zaporozhye or Kharkiv region: where Russia will try to break through the front in the fall
In an interview with Sky News, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Defense Forces of Ukraine had successfully disrupted two offensive operations of Russian troops during the summer, and the third results will be known in the coming days. According to him, Moscow plans two more large -scale attacks in the fall, but the situation for the Russian forces is complicated, contrary to their reports by Vladimir Putin.
"Two offensive operations we completely disrupted and the third I think that a day or two and we will realize that they have suffered losses and nothing happened. But I need another two days to say it publicly," the Ukrainian president said. Zelensky also stressed that the diplomatic requests of the West are not able to stop the war in Ukraine, since Putin reacts only to the demonstration of force.
In his opinion, it requires clear actions to restrain the Russian leadership, and the United States, along with European partners, can effectively affect the situation through the use of force. At the same time, the President expressed his readiness to negotiate with US Presidents Donald Trump and Russian Federation Vladimir Putin without prior conditions.
However, he categorically rejected the possibility of meeting in Moscow due to active shelling by Russia, noting that a trip to the capital of the aggressor country was impossible. The director of New Geopolitics Research Network Mikhail Samus stated that the key area of Russian aggression is Pokrovsko-Mirnograd, where the enemy seeks to break into Slavyansk and Kramatorsk.
According to him, in the reports of the General Staff of the Russian Federation, this area is already marked as "passionate", which creates political pressure on the Russian command. Because of this, Russia actively throws troops to this direction, increasing offensive actions. "This can be explained by the fact that when Gerasimov, the head of the Russian General Staff, presented a report of his Putin activity, he was already painted on the map of the area very deep red.
And very far and very wide. And now it must be confirmed, and the trends are quite bad for the Russians in the area. According to the military expert Dmitry Snegirev, the main direction of Russian offensive operations is the Donetsk region, in particular the Pokrovsky-Volunteer direction, the Slavic-Kramatorsk agglomeration and the Novopavlovsky direction.
In recent days, the number of Russian aviation departures has increased from 134 to 200, which indicates the intensification of hostilities throughout the front line. The main concentration of enemy efforts is aimed at: "The intensification of hostilities in these areas aims to create prerequisites for the so -called" territorial exchange ". The expert emphasizes the focus. Snegirev also pointed to the likelihood of intensification of hostilities in the Zaporozhye direction.
Russia's strategic goal here is to reach Zaporozhye to a distance that allows you to fire from the artillery. The preparation for the offensive is evidenced by the relocation of operational reserves from Kursk and Kherson directions, as well as statements of representatives of the Armed Forces on the possibility of scaling of hostilities. Although the Kharkiv region remains in the focus of the Russian command, Snegirev believes that the priority for the enemy is Donetsk and Zaporizhzhya.
In the Pokrovsky direction, Russia concentrated up to 110 thousand personnel, which emphasizes the strategic importance of this region. Snegirev emphasized that the summer campaign of Russian troops failed. The forces of defense not only restrained the offensive in the Pokrovsky direction, but also deducted seven settlements in the Dobropilsk direction and two in Pokrovsky. In the Sumy direction, the Ukrainian forces intercepted a tactical initiative, reflecting two settlements.
The threat of creating a buffer zone up to 20 km in Kharkiv, Sumy and Dnipropetrovsk regions is currently neutralized. "The forces of Ukraine control about 33% of the territory of Donetsk region, which testifies to the failure of Russian plans for the full capture of the region. The efforts of the Ukrainian forces can effectively neutralize the plans of the military leadership of the Russian Federation, in particular due to the competent management and stability of defense," the expert says.
Snegirev predicts that by winter the fighting will remain intense. Political and economic pressure in Russia forces the Kremlin to accelerate offensive operations. However, after the winter, the Russian campaign is possible to reformat the resource and change of strategic goals. However, the effective confrontation of defense forces requires further support from international partners, including the supply of weapons and resources.