ISW: Ukraine holds initiative, in process of securing major victory in Kherson

The major Ukrainian victory underway in Kherson Oblast will not be Ukraine’s last, the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest assessment. The experts predict that fighting will continue on the southern axis, including in Donetsk Oblast's Bakhmut, the only place Russian forces are still attempting meaningful offensives, and in northern Luhansk Oblast as Ukrainian forces continue counteroffensive operations. 

"Russian officials are busy attempting to train 120,000 conscripts to deploy to the frontlines in the spring," the ISW writes. "Ukrainian forces likely aim to liberate as much occupied territory as possible before those Russian reinforcements arrive." President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Nov. 7 that Ukraine is unwilling to negotiate with Russia until Ukraine restores its territorial integrity and Russia promises that it will not again invade Ukraine. 

"A wintertime ceasefire would only benefit Russian forces, who would use that opportunity to bolster their faltering defenses and continue their genocidal campaign to eradicate Ukrainian identity in occupied parts of Ukraine," the ISW said.