Russia's Summer Offensive in Ukraine Reaching Decisive Stage, Military Expert Says

The Russian army's summer offensive campaign is entering a decisive stage. The main goal of the occupiers is to capture Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region. They believe that now is the moment for a decisive attack on the city. However, the Ukrainian military is holding its ground, and the occupiers' plans do not depend solely on their desires, emphasised Pavlo Lakiychuk, head of military security programmes at the Strategy XXI Global Studies Centre.

The Gaze reports on it, referring to a broadcast on the FREEDOM TV channel.

‘The enemy's operation in eastern Ukraine, I mean the Pokrovsk direction in the broad sense of the word, from Chasiv Yar in the north to the Novopavlivka direction in the south, is entering a decisive stage. And the key to these events is the defence of Pokrovsk,’ Lakiychuk said. 

He recalled that not long ago, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi reported on Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups (DRG) infiltrating Pokrovsk.

‘The key here is not that the enemy was able to send its saboteurs into the city, but that this is a kind of reconnaissance sign of preparation, reconnaissance by combat before the decisive assault on Pokrovsk,’ the expert explained. 

According to Lakiychuk, the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad agglomeration is currently surrounded by the enemy on three sides. A frontal offensive is underway from the Soledar direction, from the south of the region.

"The enemy continues to try to bypass the city from the Dnipropetrovsk region, from the south-west. The enemy has cut off the Pokrovsk-Mezhova highway and is trying to reach the Pokrovsk-Pavlohrad highway, thus attempting to cut off Ukrainian defenders from Pokrovsk and their logistics. And the most dangerous thing now is that, having reached the Pokrovsk-Konstantinovka highway, the Russians have regrouped and are trying to organise an offensive from the northeast. Thus, Pokrovsk finds itself in a cauldron, with the Russians approaching from three sides. And they believe that this is the moment for a decisive offensive on the city," the expert noted.

It is difficult to say at this point whether the enemy will be able to carry out its plans, according to Lakiychuk. Everything depends not only on the occupiers' desires, but also on the capabilities and readiness of Ukrainian forces to defend this key hub.

‘If we hold Pokrovsk, the enemy will still face problems in attempting an offensive, as their main goal in this spring-summer offensive is obviously the agglomeration of Kostiantynivka, Druzhkivka, and Kramatorsk,’ the guest concluded.

As The Gaze reported earlier, according to Army General Mykola Malomuzh, head of the Ukrainian Foreign Intelligence Service from 2005 to 2010, Russia planned a summer offensive on eight fronts, but got bogged down on three of them.