During the FIFA World Cup, it is planned to attack the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Donbass. In confirmation of this, there are facts: violation of the ceasefire, bringing more sophisticated equipment to the borders, the study of the defense line by the military.
Kiev plans to launch an offensive in Donbass during the 2018 World Cup in Russia. For the first time, the media began to talk about this before the presidential elections. There was information that Petro Poroshenko had already issued a corresponding order. According to analysts, the Armed Forces of Ukraine need about a week to crush the independent republics. Then Moscow will be faced with a choice: overseeing the military clean-up of Donbass and the holding of the World Cup, or the participation of the Russian army. The latter may become the impetus for a boycott of the main sporting event of the coming summer.
Factors proving preparation for the offensive
There are all the signs for preparing offensive actions:
On May 12, 2018, the Ukrainian Armed Forces attempted to improve their positions in the area of Yuzhnoye. This caused serious losses and protracted hostilities.
- LDNR intelligence reported that an increased number of cannon and rocket artillery units had appeared near the front line.
- The Armed Forces of Ukraine began to conduct sorties more often by the forces of the infantry, trying to oust the militia fighters from the "gray zone".
- There is a study of the defense line of the Donbass troops, the seizure of servicemen is taking place.
The latter is due to two goals: intelligence information, propaganda. In addition, the main direction for the offensive remains the south of the republic, where material resources are actively accumulating and prohibited weapons are located.
One of the servicemen noted that the troops not only began to receive a large amount of ammunition and fuel and lubricants. The advanced units were promised to transfer the Javelin ATGM. According to Petro Poroshenko, thanks to such installations, the combat capabilities of the army have grown significantly. However, during their presentation, it was said that they were created for defense.
According to the representative of the Donetsk military department Eduard Basurin, the DPR servicemen destroyed a group of Ukrainian security officials who were trying to penetrate the territory of Horlivka on May 20-21. In addition, the Ukrainians have lost an American-made counter-battery warfare station.
Plans
The General Staff of Ukraine is planning to deliver two strikes with the forces of a tank and motorized brigades, bypassing Donetsk from the south. The main goal is to drive a wedge into the enemy's defenses to the depth of company strongpoints. A breakthrough to Stakhanovka was planned from the south with the help of the marines and an airmobile brigade.
As a result of this offensive, the troops should be on the Lutugino-Ilovaisk-Komsomolskoye-Pobeda line, consolidate their positions for the subsequent regrouping of forces. There are plans to completely defeat the militia and reach the border with the Russian Federation.
For the success of the operation, a special mechanism was developed, which allows not only to maintain the combat capability of the replacing brigades, but also to increase their strike capabilities.
At the heart of the first echelons are the main groupings of forces and assets that ensure the defeat of the defense. The powerful movement from tanks and self-propelled artillery fully meets the requirements of the new concept. According to military experts of the NATO armies, this method provides surprise for the strike and reduces the group's vulnerability.
Recall that in mid-May 2018, the situation in Donbass worsened. The DPR representative in the JCCC reported that the security forces violated the ceasefire almost 180 times in a week, trying to launch an offensive in the Gorlovka area. As a result, at least 10 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine died.
