The day before, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrsky, warned about the intensification of the offensive of the “second army of the world” in a number of key areas, in particular, in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions.
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Photo – unian.net
As NBN reports with reference to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Putin’s troops intend to seize a bridgehead and create a buffer zone in the northern part of Sumy region, and it appears they are preparing a new offensive on the regional center.
According to ISW analytics, in Sumy region, steady but local successes of the “liberators” are being recorded on the line Vladimirovka-Zhuravka-Novenke (north and northeast of Sumy), but in order to carry out a large-scale offensive on the regional center, the occupiers need to receive significant reinforcements.
Military experts believe that Putin's army is not only trying to create a buffer zone in the border area, but has also planned a phased advance toward Sumy in order to try to make the city uninhabitable for civilians.
There is also a high probability that the Russian generals will use the offensive on Sumy as an argument for expanding territorial claims against Kyiv during potential peace negotiations.
Moreover, the increased political and information pressure that will accompany the offensive on Sumy may be more important for the Kremlin tyrant Vladimir Putin than advances in other frontline areas.
Photo — understandingwar.org
Earlier, we wrote about how Syrsky commented on the NYT article about the failure of the Ukrainian Armed Forces counteroffensive in 2023.