ISW: Russia rushes to launch offensive in Donbas without sufficient combat power.
Russia may be rushing to launch an offensive in Donetsk Oblast in an unrealistic timeframe and likely without sufficient combat power, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported on Feb. 7.
Russian forces have only been able to gain several hundred meters of territory per week since early January, the institute said.
According to the U.K. Defense Ministry, this slow advance is due to Russian munitions shortages and a lack of maneuver units.
Russian forces are unlikely to build up the combat power to impact the war's outcome, while the Russian military command continues to order unrealistic and wide advances, according to the ISW.
Russia's main efforts focus on conducting offensives near Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast and Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Novopavlivka in Donetsk Oblast, according to the General Staff.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said during the 24th EU-Ukraine summit in Kyiv on Feb. 3 that Russia would soon launch a major offensive in the east and northeast, targeting cities like Bakhmut and Lyman in Donetsk Oblast.
Ukrainian intelligence on Feb. 2 also warned that Russia was redeploying additional assault groups and military equipment to capture the Donbas – comprised of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts – by March.
Russian forces have been occupying parts of Donetsk Oblast since 2014. Russia has almost doubled the occupied area in the region since Feb. 24.
