Speaking at the Estonian Ministry of Defense's weekly Friday press conference, Lt. Col. Puusepp said that as the weather has become worse, it makes the terrain in some areas more difficult for heavy equipment to negotiate. "This is why the armed forces of the Russian Federation often use ATVs (All-terrain vehicles) and motorcycles to transport their units to the front, which do not provide protection or firepower for the troops, but are harder to spot and faster and have better penetration," he said.

"The Ukrainian Armed Forces are under constant pressure from the Russian Federation forces in Kursk Oblast. Although in recent weeks there has been a gradual advance of Russian Federation forces in Kursk Oblast, neither side has made decisive progress," Lt. Col. Puusepp said.

Lt. Col. Puusepp also pointed out that in order to further tie up the Ukrainian forces, Russian troops carried out a fortification of the Oskil River near the Luhansk-Kharkiv Oblast border, north of the town of Kupiansk, in an attempt to create a bridgehead on the west bank of the river.

"Up to now, Ukrainian forces have managed to eliminate one of the bridgeheads, and the second one is likely to be overcome in the coming days. The creation of one or more bridgeheads would have given the Russian Federation forces the opportunity to threaten not only the eastern side of the town of Kupiansk but also the northern side," the EDF Lt. Col said.

"It is likely that the Russian Federation will try to create more bridgeheads in the near future, for example in the area of the Dnipro River on the southern part of the front. This section of the front is heavily fortified, but if the intention is to tie up the Ukrainian Armed Forces and prevent them from supporting the offensive, then a move like that is likely," Lt. Col. Puusepp said.

In Donetsk Oblast, Lt. Col. Puusepp said, Russian troop pressure on the offensive line is also high.

"The Russian forces are concentrated around the town of Kurakhove, around 30 kilometers south of Pokrovsk, and are trying to merge two offensive directions: one heading east to west near highway No. 15, and the other heading north from the Vuhledar region along the same highway," the EDF Lt. Col. explained.

"For the Ukrainian forces, the situation is rather complicated, as the merger of these approaches could lead to a possible encirclement. However, the area is not likely to be without Ukrainian reinforcements, and as such a possibility is envisaged, there will probably be the introduction of appropriate mitigation measures."

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