Russian troops are seeking to stretch Ukrainian forces across a wider front line in eastern Ukraine before launching their summer offensive.
This information was reported by ISW, URA-Inform reports.
It is for this purpose that they are probably trying to use the threat of an attack on Kharkov. This conclusion was made by analysts at the American Institute for the Study of War.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Alexander Syrsky, recently announced that Russia is accumulating troops in the Kharkov direction and is regrouping. Ukraine, for its part, is aggravating the most dangerous areas in this direction.
The Institute noted that Syrsky’s statement does not indicate the inevitability of a Russian offensive operation against Kharkov. The commander-in-chief noted that Ukrainian forces had recently improved their positions near Sinkovka (northeast of Kupyansk), and a Russian military blogger said that Russian troops had retreated a short distance from Sinkovka due to a lack of manpower in the area.
The failure of the Russian brigades to capture Sinkovka, despite repeated massive infantry and mechanized attacks during the months-long offensive, calls into question their combat effectiveness, as well as the combat effectiveness of the northern group of forces as a whole, ISW believes.
«A potential future Russian offensive to capture Kharkov would be an extremely ambitious measure that would pose serious problems for Russian forces, especially given that Russian troops will face equipped Ukrainian forces upon the arrival of US military aid», — analysts emphasized.
At the same time, Russian occupiers could use the threat of an attack on Kharkov to stretch Ukrainian forces across a wider front line in eastern Ukraine before launching their summer offensive.
We recall that it was previously reported that the Russians are preparing to open a new front: the expert pointed out important signs.
