KYIV – Ukraine is bracing for months of fierce fighting over key strongholds in the eastern Donetsk region that are at the heart of Russia’s war aims, in the first major test for Kyiv’s incoming top general, Mykhailo Drapatyi, and his new commanders.
Moscow’s larger forces have been inching toward the “fortress belt” cities of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, the capture of which would bring Russia closer to its goal of seizing the entire industrialized Donetsk region.
The human toll has already been high, and, despite renewed diplomatic contacts, military analysts expect Russia to intensify its offensive as winter approaches.