The occupying army of the Russian Federation seeks to seize as much Ukrainian territory as possible at any cost before the arrival of key weapons to the Ukrainian military from the United States.
What is known about the plans of the Russian occupiers to seize as much Ukrainian territory as possible
Journalists for the publication note that although the first parts of the $61 billion of US military aid have already begun to arrive in Ukraine, the key part will take weeks or even several months to arrive.
The Russian occupiers are entirely using their superiority in artillery and personnel at the front. They are in a hurry to encircle the areas of the front controlled by the Ukrainian military east of the Donetsk region.
The Kremlin is in a hurry. They are trying at all costs to improve their combat positions in order to force Ukraine to agree on a ceasefire, — explains Pavel Luzin, an employee of the Jamestown Foundation think tank in the USA, who deals with the issues of the Russian armed forces.
It is noted that after the capture of Avdiyivka on the eve of the fictitious Russian elections in March, Moscow troops captured a total of 11 settlements.
Why is the defence of Chasiv Yar of strategic importance to AFU?
Taras Zhovtenko, a Ukrainian military analyst and adviser to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, noted that the Russian military's latest achievements continue the general operation.
Before the presidential elections in Russia, it was clear that the seizure of new territories is a political task handed down from above to Russian soldiers. Right now, we are seeing a continuation... They are trying to seize as much land as possible before US military aid arrives, the analyst emphasises.
In particular, the Russian occupation army is currently conducting an active offensive in Chasiv Yar.
Bakhmut did not have a real strategic importance, but Chasiv Yar does, — emphasises Michael Clark, a professor of military studies at the King's College London
The capture of the city will allow the Russian occupiers to advance almost unimpeded to the south of the Donetsk region in the direction of Kramatorsk and, even further, towards the Dnipro.
There is no doubt that US military assistance, when it arrives, will at least partially negate the advantages currently enjoyed by Russian forces on the front lines. But analysts, as before, fear that if Russia continues to seize cities and territories (especially Chasiv Yar), this will significantly increase the pressure on Kyiv's forces, the publication emphasises.
