ISW: The pace of the offensive on Bakhmut has slowed, but intensified near Avdeevka
The Russian army is likely to lose momentum in the Bakhmut offensive as the Russian Defence Ministry redeploys units to other directions.
This was reported by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
This apparent change of deployment, if it is not the result of Russian misrepresentation, probably indicates that the Russian troops chose as their priority to intensify operations around Avdyivka rather than to resume the offensive against Ugledar," the institute's analysts said.
The ISW also recalled that on 19 March, Ukrainian Defence Force spokesman Oleksiy Dmytrashkovskyy said that Russian troops had started intensifying shelling near Avdiyivka.
It appears that Russian troops are pulling more combat power to the Avdiyivka area, which may allow them to increase the pace of advancement, although no Russian offensive in the area was confirmed on 22 March," the analysts said.
At the same time, the Institute made a forecast about possible developments on other fronts:
Russian forces may launch or intensify offensive operations in new directions, but these operations are unlikely to yield tangible results as the overall Russian spring offensive continues to approach its climax," the institute experts summed up.