Russia, Ukraine move toward possible territorial swap amid fighting — military expert

Military expert Dmytro Sniehyrov, co-head of the Prava Sprava initiative, said this on Espreso TV.

“The frontline is expanding by 200 kilometers. Russian occupiers are scaling up the theater of war using territories not officially incorporated into Russia by the Kremlin leader’s decree. This primarily concerns the Sumy and Kharkiv regions, as well as Russia’s attempts to reach the administrative borders of the Dnipropetrovsk region to extend hostilities into that area,” commented the military expert.

In his view, the conditions for a so-called territorial exchange are being created. The occupiers are clearly signaling that they will reduce pressure in three regions — Sumy, Kharkiv, and Dnipropetrovsk (though they haven’t entered the latter), while the Ukrainian Defense Forces are withdrawing from controlled areas of the Donetsk region.

“Currently, the Russians won’t be able to seize control of large industrial agglomerations, primarily Sloviansk-Kramatorsk and Pokrovsk, in the near historical future. That would take years and cost them hundreds of thousands of troops. Recall that during the nine-month battle for Bakhmut, Russian losses reached 100,000. And Bakhmut is a small town compared to Kostiantynivka, not to mention the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk area,” Sniehyrov noted.

• Since the start of Friday, July 25, 85 combat clashes took place on the Russian-Ukrainian front. The Ukrainian defense forces repelled 30 Russian attacks in the Pokrovsk direction, with 4 more battles ongoing.