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The rapid deterioration of political negotiations between the separatist “republics” and Kyiv may trigger a military escalation by the Russian-backed forces, which continue to conduct heavy indirect fire strikes against frontline Ukrainian positions.
Russian backed Separatist forces have launched multiple unsuccessful assaults on Marinka, a Ukrainian held town near Donetsk.
Russian-backed separatists maintained heightened offensive operations along the front line in the week following the June 3 assault on Ukrainian forces west of Donetsk. Attacks intensified near the H20 and T1303 highways which respectively link the separatist-held capitals of Donetsk and Luhansk to the major government-controlled cities of Mariupol and Sievierodonetsk.
Russian-backed separatists launched an offensive maneuver on June 3 after several weeks of military buildup and an expansion from concentrated shelling to attacks across a coordinated front. Separatist combined arms forces stormed Ukrainian military positions bordering the western city districts of Donetsk. Ukraine’s military claimed to have repelled the initial maneuver.
Russian-backed separatists launched a long-anticipated offensive maneuver on June 3 that fully severed a fraying ceasefire in eastern Ukraine. After weeks of military buildup and operational expansion along the front line, the Russian-backed forces stormed government-held military positions immediately west of the separatist stronghold of Donetsk before being driven back by Ukrainian troops.
The continued broadening of attacks on Ukrainian frontline positions in Donbas suggests that the Russian-backed separatists have transitioned to a new phase of offensive operations. Separatists expanded their offensive operations most ostensibly into Ukrainian-held areas south and west of the city of Donetsk.
Russian-backed separatists broadened their offensive operations along the frontline in Donbas ahead of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s trip to the EU Eastern Partnership summit in Riga, Latvia.
Russian-backed separatists continue to posture for a surprise offensive.
ISW is issuing a warning about an imminent Russian-backed separatist o_ensive in eastern Ukraine on or around Victory Day, May 9, 2015.
Russian-backed separatists intensified attacks on Ukrainian forces for the third week in a row, signaling their complete abandonment of the February 12 ceasefire agreement.