Russia's offensive may be its last big push - Ukrainian expert
Illustrative photo: an expert explains why Russia's offensive is a final push (Getty Images)
The situation on Ukraine’s frontlines is indeed critical, and Russia is likely to intensify its pressure through so-called human wave assaults, says Ukrainian military expert Oleksii Hetman in a comment to RBC-Ukraine’s YouTube channel.
"They’re going to push forward now, sacrificing large numbers of troops in these meat-grinder-style assaults to reinforce the narrative coming from Russia’s Ministry of Defense, the presidential administration, and directly from Putin, that if they want to, they can advance significantly,” Hetman said.
According to him, several Russian commanders are trying to please Russian leader Vladimir Putin by proving themselves as capable military leaders, hoping to be rewarded.
The Russian command is competing to see who will advance on the frontline in Ukraine and to what extent. In the Russian military system, success is measured by territorial gains, not troop losses.
"That’s why they’ll push hard. It’s going to be desperate. This attempt feels like Russia’s final push. If they don’t achieve major success in this campaign, and I cautiously believe they won’t, then they simply won't have the resources or the capabilities for the next offensive campaign," Hetman concluded.
Russia's summer offensive
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recently stated that Russian troops have been conducting a constant offensive in all directions of the front for several months. The Russian forces concentrate their greatest efforts in the Sumy region.
"Their offensive actions began in all directions. The main direction was the Sumy direction, where 67,000 troops were concentrated. We took appropriate steps to prevent them from uniting," Zelenskyy said.
According to him, Russian troops are working to restore and regroup their forces.
Operational and tactical grouping Kharkiv also reported that the Russian army is amassing forces, and the summer offensive campaign has actually already begun.
