The Operational Tactical Group “Kharkiv” reported that the Russian summer offensive has effectively already begun. Military analyst Valeriy Ryabykh explained where the Russian Armed Forces have concentrated their forces and assessed the enemy’s chances of advancement.
This information comes from a commentary by the military expert and director of Defense Express, Valeriy Ryabykh, to the Espreso TV channel on May 15.
He informed that currently, the Russian occupiers are trying to concentrate their forces in the Pokrovske direction. Over the past day, 74 enemy assaults were repelled there.
“And here it seems to many that they are trying, nonetheless, to reach the borders of the Dnipropetrovsk region. But it should also be remembered that the enemy was placed by the Defense Forces of Ukraine precisely in such a position to concentrate their main forces in this direction,” the analyst emphasized.
He explained that the nature of the terrain limits the enemy, preventing them from holding these territories for long. At the same time, the Russians cannot simply stop either, because then they would be forced to occupy disadvantageous positions. Otherwise, the Russian Armed Forces will be pushed even further back—to the Kurakhove area.
Thus, the occupying forces find themselves in a kind of “trap”: they are forced to keep numerous reserves in the Pokrovske direction, unable to transfer these resources to other sectors where they would like to improve their position.
“Therefore, it appears as if the enemy is making progress, but they cannot act otherwise. This draws numerous reserves to this direction and prevents the enemy from concentrating on the areas where they would also like to improve their position,” Ryabykh noted.
The direction supporting Russia’s main efforts in the Pokrovsk area is Novopavlivka. There, the enemy attempted to break through the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ defense 26 times.
“And of course, this actually gives us some reason to make an optimistic forecast that the enemy will not be able to gather a large number of forces to fundamentally change anything by starting a new summer offensive campaign with fresh troops. They still won’t have enough to accomplish the tasks the Russians may set for themselves,” the expert concluded.
Recall that on May 14, DeepState reported that the Russian Armed Forces intensified attacks east of Pokrovsk near Toretsk and Kalynove. The occupiers also managed to enter the village of Bahatyr on the Novopavlivka front.
Media reports indicate that Russia may delay ceasefire negotiations throughout the summer due to the planned offensive. It is noted that Russian President Vladimir Putin has chosen a “tactic of delay.”
