Institute for the Study of War: Russian offensive will likely conclude without seizure of Sloviansk, Bakhmut

The U.S. think tank reported on July 20 that Russian forces may achieve limited territorial gains in Donbas northeast of the E40 highway, but will likely fail to take additional major populated areas like Sloviansk and Bakhmut. The ISW also says Russian proxies in Ukraine may use recent Ukrainian “high-precision strikes” against Russian targets to set conditions for mass deportations of Ukrainians to Russia and Russian-occupied territory.