British intelligence services see Russia increasingly successful in eastern Ukraine. The Russians now control 90 percent of Luhansk Oblast and will take full control of the pro-Russian region in the next two weeks, the British expect.
The advance of the Russians in Luhansk is not unexpected: the Ukrainian army is heavily outnumbered and has previously admitted that the Russians had the upper hand.
The main reason that faster military success was not forthcoming is that the hard core of the Ukrainian army is positioned in the Donets basin. They have been fighting pro-Russian separatists in the area since 2014 and are firmly entrenched.
The success in the east also has a downside for Moscow: the Kremlin is being forced to deploy so many troops there that the Russian army is being pushed back on other fronts, the British Ministry of Defense writes on Twitter.
The military successes are also accompanied by many deaths and destroyed equipment. The British previously noted that after the battle of Ukraine, the Russian army will need “a long time” to regain war strength.
War started exactly one hundred days ago
This Friday marks the centenary of the war, which began in late February. British intelligence briefly looks back at the course of the battle and how Russia had to make its military objectives more modest.
The continued fierce resistance from Ukraine – especially in the first week around the capital Kyiv – has been crucial, the British intelligence services conclude. “Russia has not achieved any of the initially set military goals.”