Russian forces are carrying out fewer offensive actions in Ukraine than at any time since January, according to the UK’s defense ministry.
Russian and Wagner Group forces have obtained footholds west of the Bakhmutka River in the center of the Bakhmut, but “more broadly across the front line, Russia is conducting some of the lowest rates of local offensive action that has been seen since at least January 2023,” the ministry said in its daily bulletin Friday.
“This is most likely because Russian forces have temporarily depleted the deployed formations’ combat power to such an extent that even local offensive actions are not currently sustainable,” it added.
Ukrainian officials and other analysts have also noted a decline in Russian offensive action in recent weeks, even as fire from artillery and rocket systems, as well as airstrikes, continue.
A Ukrainian military spokesman, Col. Oleksiy Dmytrashkivskyi, said Wednesday that Russian ground attacks have decreased from 90-100 attacks per day to 20-29 per day and two to nine at night.
“The enemy has somewhat lost its offensive potential amid significant losses in manpower and equipment,” Dmytrashkivskyi said. “In addition, it has significantly reduced the use of military equipment, especially at night.”
And the Institute for the Study of War noted earlier this week that “the overall pace of Russian operations in Ukraine appears to have decreased compared to previous weeks.”
However, indirect fire — from artillery, rocket systems and air strikes — continues to cause widespread damage across the Donetsk region.
Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of Donetsk region military administration, said that six people were wounded in two waves of shelling in the city of Kostyantynivka on Thursday, with Toretsk and Chasiv Yar also targeted.
