Russia prepares troops, but not for assault on Dnipro: Expert reveals Kremlin plans

The Russian advance along the section bordering Dnipropetrovsk region is primarily a military-political maneuver rather than a strategic military objective.

This view was expressed by military expert and veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war Oleksiy Hetman in an interview with Telegraph.

He explained that the main goal of this offensive is demonstrative in nature.

«They want to show the whole world or inside their federation that they can already conduct combat operations even in Dnipropetrovsk region, in order to somehow force us to agree to hand over the other four regions,» Hetman noted.

No forces for success, main blow elsewhere

In the expert’s opinion, the forces and resources of the Russians in this direction do not give them grounds to hope for significant successes. No particular concentration of troops is observed on this frontline section. The force ratio remains approximately one to three in favor of the Russians, as on most other sections.

Hetman emphasizes that Russia is accumulating troops not for an advance on Dnipro, but in the Zaporizhzhia direction. The Ukrainian side expected intensification of combat operations from Russia precisely this autumn, following the failure of three spring operations.

«We expected two offensive operations this autumn. The Russians failed three operations in the spring and did not achieve the goals they themselves announced. Now we expected two,» the expert said.

Two likely directions this autumn

The analyst believes that the autumn offensive could occur in one of two directions:

1. Pokrovsk, where the Russian army has long been trying to advance, expending significant resources.

2. Zaporizhzhia (Kherson), which the expert sees as the more likely focus of Russia’s main effort.

The activation of Russian units in northern Zaporizhzhia region, according to Hetman, may be part of a maneuver ahead of the main attack in this direction.