The Russian army moves quickly on the plains, but is not ready for battles in the city.
“ISW analyst said whether the Russians will be able to capture Slovyansk and Kramatorsk” />
The Russian military, which is currently trying to advance in Donetsk region, is unlikely to capture such large cities as Kramatorsk and Slovyansk, according to the analyst of the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) George Varos.
According to Varos, the mechanized units of the Russian army are capable of traveling long distances through open plains, rural areas, where there is a well-fortified Ukrainian defense. However, they are not ready for battles in the city – the pace slows down as you approach a more densely populated area.
“At the beginning of the war, they managed to quickly reach Brovary and other parts of Kyiv through the fields. But where the Russians had to operate in an urban environment, their operations stopped. When the Russians were on the outskirts of Obolon, in Buch, in the Borodyanka area, their operations slowed down. Advancement through Mariupol, the urban environment there, was also slow,” Varos says in an interview with “Society”.
With this in mind, analysts expect that the Kramatorsk-Bakhmut line, primarily on the E40 highway, where there are prepared Ukrainian defensive positions, will slow down Russia's pace.
As an example of the Russians' unwillingness to act in an urban environment, Varos cites the attack on Seversk The Russians have not been able to take this small town since they announced their exit to the border of the Luhansk region.
“I don't see any prospects that the Russians will achieve quick successes, taking into account the more difficult and even better prepared defense of Donetsk region. We believe that the Kremlin is unlikely to capture them (Kramatorsk, Slavyansk and other cities of Donetsk region – ed.), and even more so before September 11,” the analyst concludes.
Read also: They failed increase the pace: ISW doubts the ability of the Russians to capture Slavyansk or Bakhmut
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