Institute for the Study of War: the Russians have made little progress on the outskirts of Sievierodonetsk, other operations in the east have slowed

Russian troops made little progress on the outskirts of Sievierodonetsk on June 18, and probably advanced into Metyolkyne, but largely stopped in other directions of the offensive. This is stated in the summary of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Thus, Russian troops are likely to face heavy losses and depletion of personnel and equipment, which will complicate attempts to resume the offensive at other critical points, as the "sluggish battles" for Sievierodonetsk continue.

As previously estimated at ISW, the Russians are likely to be able to capture Sievierodonetsk in the coming weeks, but to do so they must concentrate most of their forces on this small area. Other Russian operations in eastern Ukraine, such as efforts to capture Slovyansk and advance east of Bakhmut, have not made much progress in the past two weeks.

Russian forces continue to push the Ukrainian military away from the occupied borders north of Kharkiv and along the southern axis, but have made little progress, making them vulnerable to Ukrainian counteroffensive and guerrilla pressure.