Russian forces ramp up offensive operations despite severe losses – ISW

Russian troops are accelerating offensive operations on the entire territory of the front in Ukraine and, at the same time, " mitigating likely increased manpower and material losses."

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports this.

According to American analysts, Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine's intelligence, stated that Ukraine expects Russian offensive operations to intensify in late spring and early summer.

In addition, as experts stressed, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also previously noted that the main Russian offensive efforts could begin at the end of May or in June.

"ISW has recently observed that Russian forces intensified the tempo of their offensive operations across the theater, including by conducting a roughly reinforced company-sized mechanized assault toward Chasiv Yar on April 4, and continues to assess that the Russian military appears to be successfully mitigating likely increased manpower and materiel losses," ISW emphasized.

Zelensky and high-ranking Ukrainian military officers recently warned:

• that delays in providing security assistance forced Ukraine to cede the initiative on the battlefield to Russia,
• that the Ukrainian military cannot plan a successful counteroffensive or defense without knowing when and what kind of aid Ukraine will receive.

The ISW continues to evaluate the impact of delayed Western military support on the Defense Forces. These delays have forced the Defense Forces to make tough choices regarding the allocation of resources as they face the challenge of countering the Russian military expansion. Meanwhile, they must also plan for future offensive operations while the US has prolonged discussions over providing military aid.

ISW key findings as of April 7:

• Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will meet with Chinese officials in China on April 8 and 9 amid Western warnings that China is increasingly helping Russia's defense industrial base and even providing Russia with geospatial intelligence.
• Russian forces reportedly continue to systematically use prohibited chemical weapons in Ukraine and are attacking Ukrainian positions with chemical substances almost daily throughout the frontline.
• Russian officials accused Ukraine of launching a series of drone strikes against the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) on April 7. Still, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) did not attribute responsibility for the strikes.
• Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi openly condemned and is taking action following reports that members of Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) may have purposefully intimidated a Ukrainian journalist investigating corruption within the SBU by issuing the journalist a draft summons.
• Russian forces recently made confirmed advances near Avdiivka amid continued positional fighting along the entire line of contact on April 7.
• Chieftan of the All-Russian Cossack Society and Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Nationalities Nikolai Doluda claimed on April 7 that more than so-called 30,000 Cossack personnel have fought in Ukraine.