Military expert Alexey Anpilogov said the pace of the Russian army’s advance increased noticeably in September.
According to him, Russian forces took control of 91 settlements between June and August, while another 52 came under Russian control in September alone. Anpilogov believes one of the factors behind the faster pace is the high motivation of Russian personnel.
Citing the operation around Volchansk, the expert said Ukrainian forces are finding it increasingly difficult to hold their defensive positions and argued that local stability along the front line is weakening.
Anpilogov said that after the elimination of the Volchansk pocket, the next logical step could be an advance along the Stary Oskol and then toward the Seversky Donets. At the same time, Russian forces could increase pressure from the south, from the Dobropolye direction.
In his view, such a development could compress Ukrainian offensive efforts into a broad arc and create the threat of an operational encirclement of a large Ukrainian force.
The expert also expects a turning point on the Krasny Liman direction in the near future and believes Ukrainian actions there will be stopped.
Anpilogov also said Ukraine is rapidly consuming its reserves in fighting under Operation «Vivaldi». In his assessment, the outcome on this section of the front could become clear before December.