Russia aims to seize four key Ukrainian industrial cities before peace talks, expert warns

He shared this information on Espreso TV.

“Regarding the Novopavlivka direction and the Kurakhove pocket – the situation is difficult, as Ukrainian units there are already in operational encirclement. It was necessary to make unpopular decisions about withdrawing from the Dachne area to prevent the operational encirclement of our units. It should be noted that this is an alignment of the front line by the enemy, but in my opinion, the main theater of military operations will shift to the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration. The Russians will try to reach the administrative borders of the Donetsk region and take control of four key industrial cities currently held by the Armed Forces of Ukraine—Kramatorsk, Sloviansk, Druzhkivka, and Kostiantynivka—before peace negotiations begin,” Sniehyrov commented.

According to him, the pressure from the Chasiv Yar area, which has already been practically seized by the Russians, directly threatens Kostiantynivka. The enemy’s pressure in the Toretsk direction, where the Toretsk-Kostiantynivka highway is located, essentially flanks the positions of Ukraine’s Defense Forces. The sharp intensification of enemy activity in the Kupiansk direction is not so much aimed at capturing Kupiansk itself but rather at advancing along the Oskil River toward Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. Two days ago, enemy intensity also increased in the Lyman direction, where a powerful strike force was formed to advance toward Sloviansk and Kramatorsk once again.

“I have identified four sections of the front where the goal is to achieve a strategic objective—reaching these four cities. Sloviansk is significant for Russia not only for military reasons but also for economic ones—due to its shale gas deposits, which are the largest in Europe. Before the full-scale invasion and the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO), American companies were set to develop these deposits. Then came the Russian invasion, Girkin’s raid, and the seizure of Sloviansk, which was not coincidental—it was meant to block Ukraine’s energy independence. Accordingly, the Russians will do everything possible to prevent these shale gas reserves from falling under U.S. control,” the military expert emphasized.

Sniehyrov concluded that Ukraine’s primary task is not to quarrel with its partners but to establish a defensive line that will prevent Russian occupiers from approaching these natural resources.

• On February 19, the OSINT intelligence project DeepState reported that Russian forces had made significant advances in the area of the settlement of Andriivka in the Donetsk region.
• The General Staff reported that on February 19 alone, 122 combat clashes occurred on the Russian-Ukrainian front. In the Pokrovsk direction, Russian troops attacked Ukrainian defenders 32 times.