Ukrainian forces have established a foothold on the east bank of the Oskil River in the Kharkiv region, depriving Russian forces of using the waterway as a natural defensive line and wreaking havoc on efforts to
shore up Russian lines, according to recent intelligence assessments of the conflict.
As they continue to push Russian forces back in the south and east, Ukrainian troops are also making it difficult for their opponents to replenish ammunition, personnel, and equipment lost in battle, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
“Ukrainian military officials noted that the Ukrainian interdiction campaign is crippling Russian attempts to transfer additional ammunition, reserves, mobilized men, and means of defense to frontline positions,” the ISW said in its Oct. 5 assessment of the war.
In the past five days, Ukrainian forces have liberated more than 1,000 square kilometers of
occupied territory in the south, according to the ISW.
Russian forces are falling back toward Kherson City, with Ukrainian troops liberating several settlements on the eastern bank of the Inhulets River, according to ISW. There as elsewhere, Ukraine's advance is outpacing Russia's ability to plug holes in its lines with newly mobilized troops, ISW assesses.
"Ukrainian sources have rightly observed that the partial mobilization is not a major threat in the short term because the Ukrainian counteroffensive is moving faster than the mobilization can generate effects," ISW
said in its assessment of battlefield developments through Oct. 4. In northern Kherson Oblast, Ukraine is beginning to collapse the sparsely-manned Russian lines in that area," according to ISW.
Ukraine continues to advance as a result of offensive operations along both the northeastern and southern fronts, according to the U.K. Ministry of Defense. In the northeast, in Kharkiv Oblast, Ukraine has now consolidated a substantial area of territory east of the Oskil River.
“Ukrainian formations have advanced up to 20 km beyond the river into Russia’s defensive zone towards the supply node of the town of Svatove,” the U.K. MoD said in its Oct. 5 assessment. “It is highly likely that Ukraine can now strike the key Svatove-Kremina road with most of
its artillery systems, further straining Russia’s ability to resupply its units in the east.”