The limited number of crossings and the vulnerability of those crossings to Russian fires also mitigates the risks caused by the premature culmination of a given axis—Ukrainian forces could be driven to withdraw from the entire east bank by the threat of being cut off even if they manage to stop one or more axes of Russian advance short of the river. [...] The longer the Russian military maintains the theater-wide initiative in Ukraine the more opportunity the Western Grouping of Forces has to achieve its operational objective of pushing Ukrainian forces off the east bank of the Oskil River. [...] Operational Effects of a Successful Russian Operation to Reach the Oskil River The Russian seizure of the left bank of the Oskil River in Kharkiv Oblast would generate immediate operational benefits for Russian forces along the Kharkiv-Luhansk axis and throughout the theater while also setting favorable conditions for future Russian offensive efforts. [...] Ukrainian forces previously attempted to advance towards Svatove and Kreminna after liberating Lyman in October 2022, and Russian forces committed a considerable amount of effort and manpower to stabilizing the line in the area and pushing Ukrainian forces back from the P66 (Svatove-Kreminna) highway.[92] The Russian seizure of all of Luhansk Oblast was one of the main objectives of the Russian Wi. [...] The Russian seizure of the east bank of the Oskil River from Kupyansk to Oskil City would secure this operational flank, on the other hand, and allow Russian forces to attack along a wider front north of Slovyansk from positions backed by a secure Russian rear with the threat of Ukrainian counterattack confined to the south and west.
Authors
- Pages
- 33
- Published in
- United States of America
