Russian troops have captured or entered about a half-dozen villages on Ukraine’s eastern frontline over the past week, underscoring the deteriorating situation in the region as Ukrainian forces are outgunned and outnumbered as they await much-needed U.S. military aid.
“The situation on the front lines has deteriorated,” Ukraine’s top commander, Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky, said in a statement. statement On Sunday, he announced that his troops had withdrawn from two villages west of Avdiivka, a stronghold in eastern Ukraine that Russia seized earlier this year, and from another village further south.
Military experts say Moscow’s recent developments reflect its desire to take advantage of an opportunity to continue its attacks before the first tranche of a new U.S. military aid package arrives in Ukraine to help ease its forces.
Congress recently approved $60 billion in military aid to Ukraine, and President Biden signed it last week and vowed to speed up arms shipments.
“In order to seize the strategic initiative and break through the front line, the enemy concentrated its main forces in several areas, forming a significant advantage in strength and means,” Gen. Serski said on Sunday.
Let’s take a look at the current situation.
Slow but steady advance near Avdiivka
General Silsky said the “most difficult situation” at the moment was around the village west of Avdiivka, which Russia captured in February after months of fierce fighting. He said Russia had deployed up to four brigades in the region, aiming to advance toward Ukrainian military logistics hubs such as the eastern city of Pokrovsk.
After Russia captured Avdievka, Ukrainian troops retreated along a series of small villages to a new line of defense about three miles to the west, but that line is now occupied by Russian forces. Gen. Sersky said on Sunday that his troops had withdrawn from Berdych and Semenivka, the last two villages in the region not yet under full Russian control.
Serhiy Kuzan, chairman of the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation, a non-governmental research organization, said the Ukrainian command had to “choose between a bad situation and a worse situation” and decide to lose territory rather than soldiers.
Russian troops further complicate the situation Has successfully exceeded tThe Ukrainians took advantage of the gap in the Ukrainian position and quickly advanced into the village of Ochereteyn to capture the northern part of this line of defense. The village is located on a road leading to Pokrovsk, about 18 miles to the west. It is unclear whether Russian forces have full control of the area.
Offensive against Chasif Yar
this war instituteA Washington-based think tank said on Sunday that Russian advances in Ocheretain presented the Russian command with a choice: continue pushing west to Pokrovsk or push north to Chasiv Yar. . The town has been subjected to relentless Russian attacks in recent weeks.
According to Ukrainian officials, as many as 25,000 Russian soldiers were involved in the offensive on Chasiv Yar. Chasiv Yar is located about seven miles west of Bahmut, on strategic high ground.
Its capture would put the town of Kostiantynivka, about 10 miles to the southwest, within direct range of Moscow’s fire. The town is a major supply point for Ukrainian forces throughout much of the Eastern Front.
Advancing north from Ocheretyn would also allow Russian forces to attack Kostian Tinivka from the south in a pincer attack.
“Russian forces currently have the opportunity to achieve significant results near Chasiv Yar and are preparing reserves to support a large-scale offensive expected this summer,” the Institute for War Research said in a report on Sunday.
