Russian army seeking to capture two key Ukrainian cities, expert reveals

Russian troops are redeploying additional forces from various directions for the offensive in Donetsk region, which has been their strategic goal since April 2022. According to military expert Serhiy Hrabskyi, the enemy is forced to reduce combat activity in other sectors of the front in order to achieve this goal.

He said this in an interview with Ukrainian Radio.

Serhiy Hrabskyi noted that the main target of the Russian occupiers remains the Sloviansk–Kramatorsk agglomeration. The Russian army is trying to advance in this direction, whether through Lyman or toward the Druzhkivka area.

The expert emphasizes that Sloviansk and Kramatorsk are an important fortified area for the Ukrainian forces. According to him, the loss of these cities could significantly worsen the situation, particularly by creating a threat to the southeastern part of Kharkiv region.

Hrabskyi believes that after Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, Izium could become the next logistical hub from which the enemy could advance on Kharkiv and even on Poltava. That is why these two cities are key to the occupiers’ plans.

“If we look at the main highways, we must understand that Izium may be the next logistical hub, and from there the enemy could create a threat to Kharkiv as well as attempt to move toward Poltava. That is why Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, as a fortified defense area of Ukraine, now literally stand as a bone in the throat of the Russian occupiers’ plans for further occupation of Ukraine. None of us or our listeners has any doubt that the enemy will not stop at the borders of Donetsk region and will continue trying to advance, aiming at the complete occupation of Ukraine. Right now, Sloviansk and Kramatorsk are the territory the enemy so desperately seeks to capture,” the expert stated.