The assessment came in the ISW’s latest analysis of the war in Ukraine, published on Sunday night.
The think tank also said that "Ukrainian forces have inflicted a major operational defeat on Russia," adding that "the Ukrainian success resulted from skillful campaign design and execution that included efforts to maximize the impact of Western weapons systems such as HIMARS."
According to ISW, the Ukrainian counter-attack also drew Russian forces from other regions, disrupted the invader's communication lines, "and ensures that Russian advances toward Bakhmut or around Donetsk City cannot be decisive (if they occur at all)."
In an earlier report, The ISW predicted that “The Russians will occasionally counterattack and regain some lost ground and will of course conduct likely fierce artillery and air attacks against liberated settlements and advancing Ukrainian troops.”
Zaporizhzhia nuclear station shut down
The ISW further reported that on Sunday “Ukrainian authorities shut down the last active reactor at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP)."
"Ukrainian nuclear energy agency Energoatom announced that it began to prepare nuclear reactor no. 6 for a cold shutdown after Energoatom restored a backup powerline connecting the ZNPP to the Ukrainian power grid on September 11," the US experts wrote.
"Energoatom stated that a cold shutdown is the safest state for the ZNPP as frequent Russian shelling continues to damage power lines necessary to operate the plant safely," the ISW added.
Monday is day 201 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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Source: PAP, understandingwar.org