Russia aims to use opportunity window - military expert Zgurets

He spoke about this on Espreso TV.

“We should mention yesterday's information from the Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, where he gave a rather tough analysis of the situation along the entire frontline. Syrskyi said that the enemy is making some tactical gains, mentioning the Avdiivka and Marinka directions, as well as Kharkiv and Kupyansk. The enemy's main efforts are now in two directions, one of them is Pokrovske, where the enemy is trying to continue fighting after capturing Avdiivka. The Commander-in-Chief noted that Ukrainian troops have retreated from Berdychi and Semenivka, which was known before, but it is significant that the military leadership has recognized the current state of affairs. It is said that the invaders have concentrated about 4 brigades towards Ocheretyne and are trying to move west of this village," commented Zgurets.

According to him, 10-15% of Ocheretyne is held by Ukrainian troops. But this direction is complicated because from this settlement the Russian forces can continue to move further west or choose a second direction, which we do not know yet, whether they will move from Ocheretyne north to Kostiantynivka. That is, everything will depend on the decision of the enemy. Such tactical actions of the Russian aggressor demonstrate, on the one hand, the exhaustion of forces, and, on the other hand, an attempt to concentrate efforts in advancing west of Ocheretyne.

“Syrskyi also mentioned Kharkiv, saying that there is a certain accumulation of tank and artillery units of the Russian army there. I would note that this does not mean that there will be an offensive on Kharkiv, although I would not rule out taking into account the experience of the Second World War, when there were hostilities around Kharkiv, the Bohodukhiv-Belgorod operation. There was a rather dangerous advance towards Bohodukhiv then, so now the Ukrainian military leadership will also assess whether there could be an offensive in the direction of Bohodukhiv, which is located between Poltava and Kharkiv. I hope that these risks have been taken into account in the construction of the defense system,” the military expert said.

Zgurets added that the Russian forces intensified their actions in the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna area, where they managed to advance in several areas. This is an attempt to attack Kupyansk from two directions.

“After the enemy advanced to Ocheretyne, there was a threat of a flanking attack on Berdychi from the north, which caused us to retreat to another line of defense. Fighting also continues on the right flank of Ocheretyne. The Russian troops are trying to use this opportunity window, which was created by the six-month delay in military aid from the United States, and by the exhaustion of Ukrainian troops, because we have been playing around with mobilization at the parliamentary level for a long time. Now we need to restore both our personnel and the assistance that came from our American partners,” summed up the director of the information and consulting company Defense Express.

• On the afternoon of Sunday, April 28, 2024, Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, provided an update on different parts of the frontline, highlighting areas where tensions had escalated during the week.