October was terrible for Ukraine. This is what Oleksandr Syrsky, commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian army, half-heartedly acknowledges, declaring, quoted by CNN, that his troops are faced with “one of the most powerful Russian offensives” since the start of the war. “In October, Russia made its biggest territorial gains since the summer of 2022,” also note on his side The New York Times.
The Russian war effort is concentrated in the east, in the Donbass region, where the Russian army is said to have conquered “414 km2” since the beginning of October. Over the weekend, Russia claimed the capture of two localities in the Donetsk region – Kurakhivka and Vyshneve. Information not confirmed by the Ukrainian authorities.
According to Pasi Paroinen, a military expert at the Black Bird Group, half of Russia's territorial gains this year were made in the last month. “The situation in the southeast of Donbass is rapidly deteriorating,” he analyzes for The New York Times.
Weakening of Ukrainian forces
Progress which allows Russia, according to the experts interviewed by the New York daily, to “secure its flanks before launching an assault on the town of Pokrov
