The Ukrainian counterattack, which began in the Kharkov region, has not yet reached the climax and is actively moving into the Lugansk region, writes the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
ISW recalls that after the loss of most of the occupied territories in the Kharkov region, the Russians could not gain a foothold on natural borders, Oskol rivers and Seversky Donets. As a result, Ukrainians cleansed the eastern coast of Oskol, crossed the Seversky Donets and took the estuary and the territories around it – and then there are no such obstacles in front of them.
ongoing in the northern and southern directions, the counterattack of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is probably forcing the Kremlin to give priority to protect one area of operations to the detriment of another, which potentially increases the likelihood of Ukraine’s success in both areas, ISW experts in a new summary.
“The landscape in the west of the Luhansk region is suitable for tactics of lightning -fast maneuvers, which Ukrainian forces were effectively used in the eastern part of the Kharkov region in early September, and from open sources it is not visible that the Russian military significantly strengthen the West of the Luhansk region,” ISW analysts write .
In addition, according to their assumption, the fact that Ukrainians simultaneously conduct an offensive in the south, forces Russia to choose where to strengthen the defense, and where less – and as a result, the likelihood of the success of Ukrainians is growing there and there.