EDF colonel: Tempo of Russian operations starting to pick up again

The Russian Armed Forces are still holding the initiative on the ground, and the tempo of their operations have started to pick up again, said Col. Ants Kiviselg, commander of the Estonian Defense Forces' (EDF) Intelligence Center.
During his weekly Friday briefing at the Estonian Ministry of Defense, Colonel Ants Kiviselg said that the pace of the Russian Federation's operation in Ukraine, which had been declining in recent weeks, has started to pick up again. This is especially true when it comes to the ground forces. Despite the increase in the tempo, Russia's operational and tactical objectives remain unfulfilled.
According to Col. Kiviselg , the Russian Federation has been focusing its attention on identifying possible weaknesses in Ukraine's defenses.
On March 6 the Russian Federation carried out missile and drone attacks on Odesa, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis were at the time.
On March 5, Ukraine destroyed the Russian Navy's Black Sea patrol vessel Sergey Kotov using unmanned underwater vehicles.
"According to some reports, Kotov was carrying a Ka-29 transport helicopter, which was also destroyed. It was a pretty bad day for the Black Sea Fleet. There were a total of four patrol vessels like this in the Black Sea Fleet. And in the case of the Kotov, it was the newest patrol ship in its class. The ships were not commissioned until 2022," Col. Kiviselg said.
The main task of these vessels of this class is to escort cargo and support vessels in the Black Sea. According to Col. Kiviselg, Kotov was likely on patrol in the Kerch bridge area at the time of its destruction.
In the north, Russia continues to show its strength.
"Units of the Russian Armed Forces have continued to demonstrate force in the Kursk and Bryansk oblasts," Col. Kiviselg said. "Long-range fire attacks have been carried out against Ukrainian civilian infrastructure in Sumy, Chernihiv and Kharkiv oblasts. Sabotage activities have also continued in areas bordering the Russian Federation."
In Luhansk Oblast, the main activity has been on the Kupiansk-Kreminna-Svatove line. The Russian Federation's armed forces have captured additional areas in the Kupiansk and Luhansk regions, Col. Kiviselg said.
According to Col. Kiviselg, the Russian Federation's likely objective is to gain control of the Oskil River line in the Kupiansk region and the Zherebets River line in the direction of Lyman.
"Although the Russian Federation's forces are holding the initiative on the entire front, over the course of the week, the Russian Federation's advances in the Luhansk direction have been very marginal and the Russian Federation has not reached the aforementioned river lines," he said.
On the Donetsk side, the main fighting has been in the Bakhmut and Avdiivka regions.
"In both areas, the Russian Federation's armed units have advanced. Fortunately, this has been to a very limited extent. In the Bakhmut region, there has been some progress in the northwest and the west. In the Avdiivika region there have been no significant changes on the front. The Ukrainians have been able to put up their two defensive lines and have then been able to frustrate further offensives from the Russian Federation," the EDF colonel explained.
In Donetsk Oblast, the Russian Federation has made small advances to the west and south-west.
Similar to the previous week, there has been somewhat less activity in the direction of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson.
"The most active area has been in the directions of Robotyne and Verbove, where the Russian Federation has been trying to advance," said Col. Kiviselg.
On the eastern bank of the Dnipro, Ukrainian forces are still holding the bridgeheads and resisting Russian attacks in the region. On the eastern bank of the Donets too, the Ukrainians also continue to hold their positions, Col. Kiviselg said.
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Editor: Michael Cole