Russia’s new offensive: BBC sources in Ukraine’s General Staff reveal enemy’s goals in Donbas
Right now, Russia is prioritizing cities in Donetsk region that its forces approached over the past year. The Russian army has launched a new offensive campaign. Although Russian military activity in Donbas has declined, urban agglomerations in Donetsk region remain key targets.
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Russia’s offensive on Pokrovsk
BBC Ukraine reports this, citing a source within Ukraine's General Staff.
According to the source, Russia’s priority targets remain urban agglomerations in Donetsk region that its army moved closer to in 2024. These are the Pokrovsk–Myrnohrad and Kramatorsk–Sloviansk–Kostiantynivka clusters.
Donetsk region
In the first area, occupying forces are currently 4–5 km from the outskirts of Pokrovsk. Ukrainian defense forces managed to launch several counterattacks and slowed the Russians near the line of Shevchenko–Pishchane–Kotlyne villages. This disrupted the Kremlin’s plans for a partial encirclement of the city. However, Russian forces continue searching for weak spots in Ukraine’s defenses.
As for the Kramatorsk–Sloviansk–Kostiantynivka agglomeration, the enemy needs to capture neighboring towns Chasiv Yar and Toretsk before launching direct attacks. Full control of these cities has not been achieved. Urban combat is ongoing, with Russian positions currently 8–10 km from Kostiantynivka’s outskirts.
However, the beginning of Russia's spring-summer campaign has already affected areas further north. In early April, Russian forces broke through Ukrainian defenses in the Lyman direction, expanding their foothold with a simultaneous advance southward toward Lyman and westward toward the Oskil River and the town of Borova on its banks.
BBC reports that if Russia reaches these objectives, Ukrainian forces could face a dire situation, as logistics supporting the front lines near the Serebryansky Forest, Siversk, and Sloviansk could be cut off.
Zaporizhzhia region
Meanwhile, in southern Donbas and the Zaporizhzhia region, Russia’s offensive currently pursues tactical goals. Russian troops are assaulting Ukrainian defensive lines to reach the administrative borders of Donetsk region and potentially move into Dnipropetrovsk region. Russia's nearest objective may be a Ukrainian logistics hub in the town of Novopavlivka, about 15 km away from current positions.
Further south, the Russians aim to disrupt the logistics of Ukraine’s defense forces along the Donetsk–Zaporizhzhia highway. The villages of Bahatyr and Komar are at risk. Additionally, the number of attacks south of Zaporizhzhia has increased.
This escalation does not currently pose a threat to the regional capital, according to BBC’s source in Ukraine’s military command. At this stage, the Russian army is trying to complicate Ukrainian logistics between defense nodes in Orikhiv and Kamianske by capturing nearby high ground.
As reported by analysts at the Institute for the Study of War, Russia is preparing for an offensive toward Sumy and aims to capture part of the region. Notably, earlier U.S. experts assessed that the Russian army was unlikely to advance further into northern Sumy Oblast or attack the city of Sumy itself while Ukrainian troops maintain their positions in Kursk region.