Putin likely shifts military strategy to open terrain, skipping Ukraine's Pokrovsk - ISW

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports that during his annual Direct Line televised press conference  on December 19, Putin said that the Russian troops were advancing not "100, 200, 300 meters" but square kilometers along the entire front line.

“Putin may have instructed the Russian military command to delay the seizure of Pokrovsk in favor of making further gains through open fields and small settlements, particularly as Russian forces advance closer to the Donetsk-Dnipropetrovsk Oblast administrative boundary,” the analysts suggest.

ISW has observed geolocation data confirming that Russian forces are within 10 kilometers of the administrative border between the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Therefore, it is likely that Putin is pressuring the military command to push the forces toward the border rather than focusing on surrounding Pokrovsk.  

It is believed that the capture of the entire Donetsk region is one of Putin's long-standing objectives in Ukraine. He will likely prioritize advancing Russian troops to the border to make bold claims about Russia's success in Ukraine to both foreign and domestic audiences.

• On December 23, 235 combat clashes were registered on the Russian-Ukrainian front. Russian troops are actively attacking the Ukrainian positions in the Pokrovsk sector.