Estonian intelligence: Russia makes no significant progress in Ukraine in recent days

Colonel Ants Kiviselg, Head of the Military Intelligence Centre of Estonia, states that despite increasing the number of daily attacks on Ukrainian positions, Russia has not managed to achieve significant progress on the battlefield.

As reported by ERR, at the weekly press conference of the Estonian Defence Ministry, Kiviselg noted that in July and August, Russia conducted 140 to 160 attacks per day, and at the beginning of September, this number reached 190. 

He said the Russian Armed Forces continue to maintain the initiative at the operational level, with their primary offensive focus still directed at Donetsk Oblast, particularly the city of Pokrovsk.

At the same time, there have been no significant changes on the front line in Ukraine over the past week, the colonel emphasised. 

"The Ukrainians have managed to slow down the Russian advance on the Pokrovsk front. While in previous months, the Russians advanced seven to eight kilometres per month on this front, we now see that in recent days, the pace of their advance has significantly slowed," Kiviselg noted.

He added that Ukraine has also deployed additional units to the Pokrovsk front. 

Furthermore, the Head of the Military Intelligence Centre of Estonia pointed to an increase in air attacks on Ukraine's infrastructure, specifically mentioning strikes on a military academy and a hospital in Poltava earlier this week.

If Russia intends to pressure Ukrainian society and weaken its resistance with such attacks on civilian infrastructure, Kiviselg assesses that Moscow has not succeeded. 

"At this point, I can say that the Russian Federation has not achieved this goal – as a result of these attacks, the will to defend among Ukrainians remains strong and continues to grow. These attacks also keep the support for Ukraine from its allies high," he pointed out.

Last week, UK Defence Intelligence noted that the advance of Russian forces towards the city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast had accelerated.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg previously emphasised the importance of supporting Ukraine, especially during the "current difficult phase of the war".