The UK Defence Intelligence: Forcing rivers in Donbas will be one of the determinants of the war

To succeed in Donbas, Russia needs to cross rivers or carry out ambitious flank actions. It is likely that in the coming months the forcing of rivers will be a determining factor in the course of the war.

This is stated in a daily report of the UK Defence Intelligence.

The scouts note that a key 90-kilometer central section of Donbas front line runs along the Siversky Donets River, which has so far been unsuccessful.

The Ministry of Defense noted that Ukrainian forces often managed to demolish bridges before retreating. Because of this, the Russian army had to try to create the complex coordination necessary for a successful large-scale crossing of the river under fire.

• The occupiers destroyed two bridges over the Siversky Donets River between Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk and are massively shelling the third and last overpass. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) believes that the Russians should seek to seize the bridges, not destroy them, as they have previously faced major problems in forcing the Siversky Donets River.