The summer campaign on the Ukrainian front has not yet begun in the full sense for either the Russian or Ukrainian army. At the moment, localized fighting is taking place along different sections of the frontline, but some of these clashes could later develop into broader strategic operations.

Military expert Mykhailo Zhyrokhov said this in an exclusive comment to The Caspian Post while assessing the current situation on the Russia-Ukraine front.

According to him, the most difficult situation for the Ukrainian army is currently developing around Kostiantynivka.

“Street fighting is already taking place there. Kostiantynivka is a strategically important settlement because it is part of the Kramatorsk-Sloviansk agglomeration. If Russian forces manage to take the city under control, this could have a very serious impact on the overall situation on the front,” the expert said.

Zhyrokhov believes that it will be extremely difficult for Ukrainian forces to hold Kostiantynivka.

“Most likely, the question is no longer whether the city can be held, but when the Russian army will be able to bring Kostiantynivka fully under its control,” he stressed.

At the same time, the expert noted that the Ukrainian command understands the risks and is already taking steps to prepare the next line of defense.

“The General Staff of Ukraine understands the situation. The formation of a second defensive line behind Kramatorsk and Kostiantynivka has already begun in order to contain any possible further advance by Russian troops,” Zhyrokhov said.

According to him, there is also growing information about local successes by the Ukrainian army in several directions, including Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk and Dobropillia.

At the same time, he noted that the Russian army continues its operations in the border areas of the Kharkiv and Sumy regions.

“There is very little information from official Ukrainian sources regarding the Sumy region. The Russian side claims that it has managed to advance several kilometers. This may be indirectly indicated by the more intensive shelling of Sumy, as well as the use of artillery. This could mean that the frontline has moved closer to the regional center,” he said.

Zhyrokhov also drew attention to the continued infrastructure strikes by both sides.

“Middle-strike and deep-strike attacks on infrastructure facilities continue from both the Russian and Ukrainian sides. In the border areas of the Chernihiv region, for example, Russia has focused on strikes against petrol stations,” the expert said.

According to him, Ukrainian drones, in turn, are actively targeting logistics routes linked to Crimea.

“Ukrainian drones are effectively cutting logistics routes to Crimea. Certain problems with fuel and food supplies are already being observed there. Overall, this operation looks like an attempt to isolate the Crimean Peninsula,” Zhyrokhov noted.

However, in the expert’s view, this strategy has not yet reached its final stage.

“The main and final chord of such an operation would be the destruction of the Crimean Bridge. But this is an extremely difficult task. Any bridge is very hard to destroy, and Ukraine currently does not have the kind of serious strike capabilities that would make it possible to reliably achieve this objective,” Mykhailo Zhyrokhov concluded.