Ukraine is ‘close to larger success’ against Russia, according to a European military intelligence chief.
Colonel Margo Grosberg, commander of the Estonian Defense Forces Intelligence Center, highlighted various signs that Ukraine’s counter-offensive is going well. Speaking at his regular Friday press briefing held at the Ministry of Defense in Tallinn, Grosberg claimed that Ukrainian strikes have demolished Russian command and logistics.
And he said that Russia’s frontline troops are running out of steam because of a lack of rotation.
“The reserves of the Russian Federation are running out, as units cannot be rotated from the front,” said Grosberg.
He said that Russian forces being bogged down Bakhmut has also had a big impact. “The fact that the Russian airborne troops who have been stationed in Bakhmut since the spring are still tied up in the city and suffering losses, and it is not possible to send them to other places or to the reserve, also has a big impact,” Grosberg is reported to have said.
He explained that Ukrainian units have captured key areas to the north and south of the city, allowing them to fire artillery directly at the city, which is still in the hands of Russian troops. This, in turn, had enabled Ukrainian forces to gain control of the roads leading into the city – which has caused resupply problems for Russian units located there – Grosberg said.
Meanwhile, on the southern front, in Zaporizhzhia and Velyka Novosilka regions, Grosberg said Ukrainian units have increased their occupied zones and are destroying important targets in the region with precision strikes. He highlighted a missile strike on a hotel occupied by Russian forces in the Zaporizhzhia region, which reportedly killed one of Moscow’s top commanders in Ukraine.
In the north east, Grosberg said that Russia was still not yet close to any sort of tactical breakthrough in Svyatov and Kupyansk regions, despite this being key part of the current Russian offensive. Grosberg explained that victory here is crucial to the Russians, as it would force Ukraine to withdraw its troops from the vicinity of Bakhmut.
Grosberg also said Wagner Group units have been handing over their heavy weapons and small arms to Russian army units over the past week. While Wagner units are still in the Luhansk oblast, they are no longer taking part in military activities, said Grosberg.
“All this shows that the Ukrainians are close to success of a larger sort,” concluded Grosberg.
