“Analysts of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) indicate that the Russians are redeploying their units, in particular from the Kurakhiv direction, and are drawing additional forces to strengthen offensive operations on Pokrovsk.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
Analysts of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) indicate that the Russians are redeploying their units, in particular from the Kurakhiv direction, and are drawing additional forces to strengthen offensive operations on Pokrovsk.
Source: ISW
Details: Analysts suggest that Russia’s Central Army Group has assembled a strike group made up of units of the 2nd and 41st Combined Arms Armies (ZVA) south of Pokrovsk, likely as part of ongoing Russian efforts to intensify offensive operations south and southwest of the city .
Earlier, ISW had already observed signs that the Russian military command had identified a zone of responsibility for the Russians: a unit of the 2nd ZVA to the south and southwest of Pokrovsk, and a unit of the 41st ZVA to the east of Pokrovsk.
According to analysts, the decision of the Russian military command to create a strike group consisting of these units indicates that the Russian troops may be changing the priorities of tactical tasks in the Pokrovsk direction in order to create conditions for using more profitable ways of advancing closer to the immediate flanks of Pokrovsk.
Literally ISW: “The Russian military command may redeploy these units to areas south of Pokrovsk if it continues to prioritize a tactical advance toward Pokrovsk’s southern flanks in the coming weeks and months.”
Details: The Russian military command also announced the redeployment of elements of the second unit of the 51st ZVA from the Kurakhiv direction to conduct offensive operations east of Pokrovsk.
Literally ISW: “The Russian military command may be de-prioritizing offensive operations in the Kurakhovo direction and redeploying forces from Kurakhovo to strengthen the Pokrovsky direction now that Russian forces have achieved their goal of capturing Kurakhovo.”
“It is unclear whether the Russian command has reinforced or sufficiently rehabilitated the degraded Russian units that recently participated in the battles to capture Kurakhovo and its surroundings, enough to be able to operate effectively on the current front line in Pokrovsk.”
Details: According to ISW’s preliminary assessment, the Russian military command is likely to decide to redeploy parts of the brigades to a priority area of the front, and the Russian military command seems to have decided to redeploy these forces for offensive operations east of Pokrovsk.
The experts add that the Russian military command appears to be trying to use the mentioned units to advance east of Pokrovsk and surround the city, and may intend to transfer additional units of the 51st ZVA to reinforce this effort in the future.
Literally ISW: “Russian forces are likely to continue to make gains in their intensified efforts to encircle Pokrovsk from the northeast and southwest, especially if they can identify and exploit tactical vulnerabilities in Ukrainian defenses on Pokrovsk’s flanks.”
Details: At the same time, the report adds, the pace of such an advance is likely to remain slow, as Russian forces have not yet demonstrated the ability for rapid mechanized maneuvering necessary to quickly break through Ukrainian defense lines and encircle Pokrovsk with sufficient speed.
ISW key findings for January 18:
- On the night of January 17-18, Ukrainian troops attacked two Russian oil depots in the Kaluga and Tula regions.
- On the same night, Ukrainian troops also struck the Russian air defense system and radar stations on the territory of occupied Ukraine.
- It appears that Russia’s Central Army Group has assembled a strike group of units from the 2nd and 41st ZVA south of Pokrovsk, likely as part of Russia’s ongoing efforts to intensify offensive operations south and southwest of the city.
- The Russian military command also redeployed elements of the 51st ZVA from the direction of Kurakhovo to conduct offensive operations east of Pokrovsk amid ongoing efforts to intensify activities in the area.
- NATO officials report on preparations for joint NATO-Georgia exercises scheduled for March 2025.
- Russian troops advanced in the Kursk region and in the direction of Chasovoy Yar and Velika Novosilka.
- Ukrainian troops recently recovered lost positions in the Kharkiv direction.