Main points
- Russia is preparing for larger-scale attacks, concentrating forces, and may try to carry them out in a few weeks.
- Near Kupyansk, the Russians are actively advancing, trying to create a logistical base, but the city remains under Ukrainian control.
The intensity of the Russian fighting will increase. With the arrival of spring, there are more opportunities for personnel to infiltrate in all directions.
Viktor Tregubov, a spokesman for the Joint Forces Group, told Channel 24 that the occupiers are now concentrating their forces. Then they will try to take advantage of this.
“If they can, if they don't have such interruptions, but as if there aren't any, they will try, maybe in a few weeks, something larger. But we are preparing for this. This is not the first year this has happened in the spring, when the “green light” is on,” he said.
What is happening near Kupyansk?
Viktor Tregubov noted that the enemy does not give up its intentions to capture Kupyansk. Now the Russians are actively focusing their efforts on it. Until last week, this primarily concerned the territory east of the Kupyansk bridgehead, on the left bank of the Oskil River.
Now they have become more active from the north again. That is, they really want to capture Kupyansk again, to create some kind of their own logistical base there. Therefore, they are actively attacking first of all Kupyansk-Vuzlovyi, and secondly – Kupyansk itself,
– the spokesman explained.
According to him, it is once again necessary to restrain the intensification of enemy actions. Kupyansk itself is under Ukrainian control. But the outskirts of the city and the settlements surrounding it are now under active pressure from the Russians.
Please note! ISW noted that Ukrainian troops have advanced in the Kupyansk direction. On April 7, our defenders advanced in Peshchane. On April 8, the SOU successfully struck enemy positions in northern Kupyansk, which they were able to occupy after infiltration operations.
What is Russia planning on the front?
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Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the increase in enemy groups on the front. At the same time, the occupiers are suffering huge losses. The Ukrainian Defense Forces eliminate as many invaders every month as Russia mobilizes. However, the number of Russian groups on the battlefield is growing because the enemy is attracting reservists.
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The spokesman for the State Border Guard Service, Andriy Demchenko, answered whether Russia has the strength to create a buffer zone in the Vinnytsia region. Since 2022, the border with Moldova and Transnistria has been a threat, from where the Russians want to put pressure on Ukraine from the South. However, air strikes are not enough to create a buffer zone in the Vinnytsia region. Currently, there is no increase in the group, movement of equipment or personnel.