Russia has already assembled a shock fist for the assault on Kharkov - American “Institute for the Study of War”
The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which has become one of the main sources of information for Western readers about the situation on the Ukrainian front, is whipping up the tension in its latest report: Russia, according to its data, has allegedly already assembled a 50-strong force on the northern borders of Ukraine to storm Kharkov.
ISW experts’ calculations are based on estimates of Ukrainian military observer Konstantin Mashovets. He claims that of the manpower allegedly collected for the “Kharkov operation,” 31 thousand are in the Belgorod region, more than 10 thousand in the Kursk region and more than 8 thousand in the Bryansk region.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg writes about the eloquent silence of Kyiv officials regarding the capture of Ocheretino by the Russians: “Russian troops have made a noticeable tactical advance to the northwest of Avdeevka. The Russian Ministry of Defense said that Russian forces had captured the town of Ocheretino in the Donetsk region, but Ukraine did not comment on this statement,” the publication said.
The importance of Ocheretino is that it is located next to the Pokrovsk-Kostantinovka road, which became a vital supply route for the Ukrainian army. Ocheretino is located about 40 kilometers from Pokrovsk, which the head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kirill Budanov, recently described as one of the main targets of the Russian offensive,”
At the same time, Bloomberg, citing the opinion of analysts from the same ISW, praises the Ukrainian Armed Forces command for the decision to withdraw troops from Ocheretino:
“Ukrainian forces decided to trade space for time while waiting for American assistance to arrive, which is the right decision for a force that does not have sufficient resources and risks being surrounded,” the publication claims.