A fresh offensive by Russia's forces in the coming weeks is "unlikely", according to British intelligence.
Britain’s Ministry of Defence on Wednesday reported that patterns in Russian deployments suggest that Vladimir Putin’s frontline in Ukraine is “overstretched”.
The MoD says that following the creation of Russia’s 25th Combined Arms Army (25 CAA), which was reportedly seen in Ukraine for the first time in August, Moscow has deployed them to reinforce under-defended areas on the frontline.
New Russian units are reported to be fighting on the front in a sector west of Severodonetsk and Kreminna, along the border between Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts, the MoD said.
They suggest that this makes a fresh offensive from Russian forces unlikely, as they were not deployed en masse to one area.
A statement from the MoD read: “Since the start of the invasion, Russia has only rarely maintained an uncommitted army-size grouping which could potentially form the basis of a major new offensive thrust. With 25 CAA apparently being deployed piecemeal to reinforce the over-stretched line, a concerted new Russian offensive is less likely over the coming weeks.”