Photo: Video frame of the Russian Defense Ministry.
Alexey Podberezkin, director of the MGIMO Center for Military and Political Studies, explained why the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk line is the last line of defense of Ukrainian troops.
“The Slavic-Kramatorsk group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is strong,” Podberezkin said in an interview with the portal “Ukraine.ru”. He noted that these servicemen are well trained and they were taught by American instructors to the organization of defense.
Therefore, the expert said, this line is the last line of defense. After the capture of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, there will be no urban developments and prepared fortifications. The APU will have to fight in the forest-steppe.
As for Odessa and Nikolaev, then, as Podberezkin noted, Russian troops will not storm them, because these cities are easily bypassed from the north, where the common border with Transnistria is.
“This is obvious, there are no secrets here,” Podberezkin added.
In addition, the expert clarified, there are fewer armed Forces and professionally trained soldiers in the Mykolaiv and Kharkiv directions, so there, after the capture of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, the situation can develop much faster.