In the last week in the Luhansk region, where defensive positions are partially manned by poorly trained mobilized reservists around the Svatove sector, the assessment of the British Ministry of Defense on Monday morning noted.

During the last week, heavy artillery firefights continued in the Svatovo area of ​​the Luhansk region in the northeast of Ukraine. As in other parts of the front, Russian forces continue to prioritize the construction of defensive positions, which are likely to be partially occupied by poorly trained mobilized reservists.

Since the Russian front line in the southwest is now more easily defended along the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, the Svatove sector is now likely to become a more vulnerable operational flank for Russian forces.

As a significant population center in Luhansk Oblast, it is highly likely that Russian leaders consider maintaining control over Svatov a political priority.

However, commanders are likely to face the military realities of maintaining a credible defense while trying to allocate resources for offensive operations south of Donetsk.

According to British intelligence, both Russian defensive and offensive capabilities continue to be hampered by a serious shortage of ammunition and skilled troops.

Counteroffensive in the East of Ukraine

Ukrainian troops continue their counteroffensive operation in the east of Ukraine, but are facing strong resistance in the area of ​​Svatovo and Kreminnaya of Luhansk region.

The Svatove-Kreminna road is a key supply route for Russian troops in the Luhansk region.

“The fiercest battles are taking place in the Donetsk region”

Russian troops are shelling Ukrainian positions with artillery fire, and in the eastern region alone, they fired almost 400 strikes on Sunday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said on Sunday, Reuters reported.

This month, Russia withdrew its forces from the southern city of Kherson and redeployed some of them to strengthen positions in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, known as Donbas.

“The heaviest battles, as before, are in the Donetsk region. Although shelling has decreased today due to the deterioration of the weather, the number of Russian bombings remains, unfortunately, extremely high,” Zelenskyy said.

“We are making slow progress with battles in Luhansk region. Currently, there have been almost 400 artillery strikes in the east since the beginning of the day,” he continued.

Zelenskyi also said that the troops in the south “constantly and very calculatedly destroy the potential of the occupiers”, but did not give details.

Kyiv said on Saturday that about 60 Russian soldiers were killed in a long-range artillery strike in the south, the second time in four days that Ukraine has claimed heavy casualties in a single attack.