Russian troops have carried out limited ground assaults near the city of Sloviansk, according to a report published by the Institute for the Study of War (IOW).
While the heaviest fighting in Ukraine has recently focused on Donbas, analysts believe Russia has recently implemented an operational pause in military offensives.
The IOW report says that Russia launched offensives northwest of Sloviansk and southwest of the city of Donetsk, a key target for Moscow’s forces.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu ordered military units across Ukraine to increase operations to prevent strikes on parts of the country occupied by Russia, the Defense Ministry said in a statement on its website on Saturday.
The ministry said Shoigu “has given the necessary instructions to expand the activities of the army groups in all directions of attack.”
The IOW report cited the Ukrainian military’s general staff as having said that Kyiv’s forces repelled a Russian assault on the town of Bohorodychne. The report said Ukrainian footage of a Russian mobile unit being destroyed indicated that Russian troops were trying to make progress near the town.
It also said Russian forces appeared to be trying to advance towards the town of Siversk and the Bakhmut-Lysychansk highway.
The report speculated that the Russians had resumed their offensive too early, under pressure to retain momentum.
“The Russian military seems to feel continuous pressure to resume and continue offensive operations before it can reasonably have rebuilt sufficient combat power to achieve decisive effects — at a reasonable cost to itself, however.
“The resuming Russian offensive may therefore fluctuate or even stall for some time,” the report said.
(With inputs from agencies)
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