Russia Makes Itself Vulnerable In Kherson Region Due To Its Concentration In Donbas – ISW

While Russia has been concentrating on capturing Donbas, vulnerable spots have opened up in the important Kherson region, where the Ukrainian military is conducting a counter-offensive.

This is reported by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Thus, Kherson region is reportedly a critical territory because it is the only region of Ukraine where Russian forces hold positions on the western bank of the Dnieper River. If Russia can maintain a strong foothold in Kherson region when the fighting stops, it will have a very strong position from which to launch future invasions. But when Ukraine liberates Kherson region, it will be much stronger to shield itself from the upcoming Russian attack.

This strategic calculation, in principle, should lead to the fact that Russia will allocate sufficient combat power to hold Kherson region. But Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to concentrate all the forces and resources that can be mustered in an attempt to take over the Donbass, which will bring him mostly symbolic benefits.

According to the Institute, the successful Ukrainian counter-offensives in Kherson region indicate that the Ukrainian command is aware of these realities and is exploiting the vulnerabilities created by Putin's decisions.

It is also noted that the leadership of Ukraine had to make an incredibly difficult choice in this war, and in general they made the right choice: the decision of the Ukrainian command not to allocate more resources to save Sievierodonetsk, and the decision to retreat was strategically sound, albeit painful.

Consequently, Ukraine still has a good chance of stopping and then nullifying Russia's achievements.

In addition, it is emphasized that competent Ukrainian prioritization in counter-offensive and defensive operations pushed the Russians almost out of reach of Kharkov and stopped the Russian offensive in the area of Izium - and these achievements are reportedly more important than the defense of Sievierodonetsk.

As Ukrainian News Agency reported, as of the beginning of the 98^th day of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the occupiers by separate units stormed several districts of Sievierodonetsk and are gaining a foothold in the city center.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Joe Biden, in a New York Times article, said the United States would provide Ukraine with better missile systems and munitions.

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