The Russian army has likely given up on efforts to complete one major encirclement of Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine and is instead trying to secure smaller encirclements. About it informs Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in a summary for 24 May.
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According to ISW, Russian forces appear to be trying to simultaneously encircle several small concentrations of Ukrainian Armed Forces troops in Donetsk and Luhansk regions: the wider area of Severodonetsk (including Rubizhne and Lysichansk), Bakhmut-Lysichansk, around Zolote (northeast of Popasna) and around the Ukrainian fortifications in Avdiivka.
“Russian troops have begun to steadily build up efforts in these various environments on a daily basis, but have not made any major ‘breakthroughs’ or significant progress towards their stated goals of reaching the borders of the Donetsk region or capturing the entire Donbass,” the ISW said.
This change in Russian approach allows for a gradual advance, analysts say, but at the cost of abandoning several intended offensive lines and abandoning the Kremlin’s planned deep encirclement of Ukrainian forces in the east.
The Russians are sending a significant amount of their troops, artillery and aircraft to defeat the Ukrainian military in the Luhansk region and are likely to pull the necessary resources from the Izyum direction, defensive positions around Kharkov, Donetsk and Zaporozhye.
Analysts said Russian troops took more territory last week than they did in early May.
However, they did so by narrowing their scope, largely abandoning operations around Izyum and focusing on key front-line cities. At the same time, the achievements of Russians remain low, according to ISW.
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