Kurakhove battle set to become focal point of Russia’s autumn-winter offensive – military expert

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

“Firstly, we should emphasize the Kurakhove direction, as according to the General Staff's report, almost a third of the combat clashes took place in this area. The Russian invaders, after breaking through Ukrainian defenses in the southern Donbas, are trying to move from Shakhtarsk, Novoukrainka and Bohoiavlenka southward toward Kurakhove. Russian forces are making some progress in this direction," noted Zgurets.

According to the military expert, the battle for Kurakhove will become the center of gravity for all Russian autumn and winter operations.

“We understand that Russian advances toward Kurakhove will likely dominate for some time. In the long run, Russia aims to set the stage for an advance toward Pokrovsk, but we must consider the reserves and strength of both sides before drawing preliminary conclusions,” Zgurets added.

• Over the past day, October 31, 170 combat clashes were recorded on the Russian-Ukrainian front.
• During the night of October 31 to November 1, the OSINT portal DeepState recorded advances by Russian troops in the Kurakhove and Vremivka directions.