The development of events on the battlefield in the Russian Federation's war against Ukraine last week was characterized by a certain decrease in the intensity of military operations, notes the Estonian Defense Forces Intelligence Center.
Points of attention
- Russia has not been successful in achieving its strategic goals in the ongoing war against Ukraine, as reported by the Estonian Defense Forces Intelligence Center.
- Ukrainian counterattacks have intensified, leading to increased problems for Russian forces in occupied territories, particularly in Crimea.
The Russian army has not achieved its strategic goals on the battlefield in Ukraine
This is stated in a report by the Estonian Defense Forces Intelligence Center.
Despite enormous efforts and heavy losses, the Russian Federation has not achieved any of its strategic goals.
At the same time, Ukrainian medium-range strikes have exacerbated problems in Crimea and other occupied territories. But Moscow, as before, refuses to negotiate with Ukraine on any terms other than its own, the summary says.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his public address to the Russian president, described the changed reality of the war and called on the Russians to negotiate. In response, Putin said that he did not see the point in such a meeting at this time. According to the Russian leader, Russian troops control 100% of the Luhansk region, 80% of the Donetsk region and are able to advance every day.
The Estonian intelligence center noted that an average of about 250 combat clashes were recorded on the front last week. This corresponds to the level of intensity of the fighting three weeks ago. In a week, the Russian army captured 15 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory.
At the same time, according to the intelligence center, the losses of the Russian Armed Forces amounted to an average of 1,400 servicemen per day.
Ukrainian forces have launched counterattacks in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhia regions. Some advances have also been recorded in the Boriv direction in Kharkiv region and in the western part of Zaporizhia region.
The intelligence center also reported that the Armed Forces of Ukraine continued intensive medium-range strikes on Russian military facilities and connecting routes at a distance of up to 300 kilometers from the front line.
Ukrainian medium-range strikes prompted the occupying authorities of the Luhansk region to impose temporary restrictions on the movement of civilian transport on the Belgorod-Mariupol and Rostov-on-Don-Simferopol routes. Commuter train traffic was also suspended on four sections of the railway.
The intelligence center explained that due to the Ukrainian attacks in Crimea, restrictions are in place on the sale of fuel to private individuals. The number of public transport serving the population has also decreased.
During the week, Ukraine twice struck the Chongarsky Bridge to complicate the logistical support of Russian troops in Crimea and on the southern front. As a result, movement along this route to Crimea was stopped. This created additional logistical difficulties for the Russian authorities.
The intelligence center added that the Russian Energy Ministry was forced to admit that Ukrainian attacks on oil industry facilities had led to difficulties with fuel supplies in a number of southern regions of the country. A coordination headquarters was created in Russia to address these problems.
