Russian offensive is losing momentum, operational pause inevitable – Ukrainian officer

He shared his insights on the Espreso TV channel.

"This Russian Federation’s offensive, which has been active since late 2023 and into 2024, is now running out of steam. They’ve depleted their reserves and can no longer reinforce their attacks. The Russians are now forced to focus on fewer areas. While they were attacking in a dozen directions before, now they're down to three or four. This clearly indicates that they will soon need to pause operations to address manpower shortages — a resource they once thought was endless but is now running thin," Varchenko explained.

He also noted that Russia’s ability to replace its losses is falling behind the rate at which they incur them.

"For nearly three years of full-scale war, we’ve observed that regardless of weather conditions, be it winter or spring, the Russians have tried to maintain their pace — though at a higher cost when the weather’s bad. But the truth is, they don’t care about their losses, especially in manpower. Sure, losing tanks, armored vehicles, or trucks stings a bit, but they’ve long since stopped counting their dead. But I wouldn’t bet on bad weather in the fall providing us much relief — it hits both sides," he added.

• In the last 24 hours, 198 combat clashes took place between the two armies along the front. Russian forces are focusing their efforts most intensely on the Kurakhove, Pokrovsk, and Lyman fronts.