"Russian forces regained the initiative across the theater following Ukraine’s summer 2023 counteroffensive," the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest analysis of Russia's military campaign in Ukraine.
The US-based think tank added that Russia "will likely be able to determine the time, location, and scale of future offensive operations in Ukraine if Ukraine conducts an active defense throughout the theater in 2024, thereby ceding the strategic initiative to Russia."
Russian forces "will have the ability to maneuver reserve concentrations and determine how and where to allocate resources while forcing Ukraine to respond defensively as long as Russia maintains the strategic initiative," according to the ISW.
Ukrainian forces "could deny Russia these opportunities if Ukrainian forces have enough means to challenge the Russian initiative and pursue their own offensive operations in 2024," it assessed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that Russia is preparing a new offensive that will start in late May or summer, the ISW reported.
Zelensky also stated that the Ukrainian military has a clear plan to counter Russian forces, the US think tank said.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, starting the largest armed conflict in Europe since World War II.
Tuesday is day 734 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
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Source: IAR, PAP, understandingwar.org