Russian offensive on the front: What strategic task has the enemy accomplished — Chmut

The Russians are conducting active offensive operations along 20% of the entire front line, but they have successfully accomplished their strategic task — dislodging the Ukrainian grouping from the Kursk region.

This was stated by Taras Chmut, head of the Come Back Alive Foundation, in an interview with Ukrainska Pravda.

He noted that the length of the contact line is approximately 1,400 kilometers, excluding the Sumy region, where a new area of active combat has emerged.

«It’s important to understand that along these 1,400 kilometers, active offensive actions by the enemy are conducted on about 20%, not across the entire length, ” Chmut says.

According to him, the strategic goal of the Russians, both last year and in the first half of this year, was to dislodge the Ukrainian grouping from the Kursk region.

«Unfortunately, they have successfully managed this, using sheer numbers to push us out with losses. They then moved to the second stage — forming a so-called „buffer zone“ with the actual occupation of part of the Sumy region, likely to later exchange these territories for something, ” the expert said.

Taras Chmut believes another Russian goal in the Sumy region is to draw significant resources of the Defense Forces to this direction and attempt to bring the regional center under fire control.

He stated that the Russian military-political leadership has set a similar task for occupation forces in the Kharkiv region.

«In Kharkiv, this involves terrorizing the population, occasional chaotic strikes on military targets, and expanding their occupied territories in the northeastern part of the region, ” the expert noted.

According to Taras Chmut, in the almost entirely occupied Luhansk region, the Russian strike direction is aimed at Lyman, with the prospect of advancing toward the major agglomeration: Sloviansk, Kramatorsk, and Druzhkivka.

«Chasiv Yar and Toretsk are two major cities destroyed by the Russians, which they have not yet fully captured, and this remains an unfulfilled task, ” he reminded.

Additionally, as the expert points out, the Russians are moving toward the administrative borders of the Donetsk region.

«The strategic goal is to capture the entire Donetsk region, ” he concluded.