US does not expect front line in Ukraine to collapse in near future - NYT

Illustrative photo: Ukrainian military holds back the front line (Getty Images)

The US has forecasted that Ukraine will manage to maintain its defense despite Russian attempts to achieve results by May 9th, reports The New York Times.

An unnamed senior American official told the NYT that a confidential US military assessment concluded that the Russians would seek to achieve “marginal gains” ahead of May 9th. However, as stated in the assessment, Ukrainian defenders will not collapse on the front lines, even despite the lack of ammunition.

Other American officials noted that Russia likely lacks the forces for a large-scale offensive by May 9th. To do so, the Russians would have had to significantly increase their forces, which has not been observed thus far.

Meanwhile, analysts within the US government specify that Ukraine will be able to stabilize the front with the help of new weapons from allies at best by summer and at worst by the end of the year.

Russia’s goal by May 9th

In mid-April, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, announced that the occupiers had been tasked with taking control of the town of Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region by May 9th.

As reported by the spokesperson of the operational-strategic grouping of troops Khortytsia, Nazar Voloshyn, the enemy aims to capture the heights on which the settlement stands to continue advancing westward.

Moreover, yesterday, May 2nd, Oleh Kalashnikov, an officer of the press service of the 26th Artillery Brigade named after Roman Dashkevych, expressed confidence that the enemy would fail in the task set before them regarding Chasiv Yar.

However, Vadym Skibitskyi, a representative of the Main Directorate of Intelligence, stated in an interview with The Economist that the “fall” of Chasiv Yar is a matter of time, as was the case with Avdiivka.