According to British military expert Ed Arnold of the Royal Unites Services Institute (Rusi) think tank, Russian troops are “slowly exhausted in terms of offensive capability.” In an interview with Der Spiegel, the military expert explained that it was the price the army would pay for conquering the Luhansk Oblast.
According to Arnold, a big factor is Ukraine’s defensive behavior. “The Ukrainians had chosen a forward defense, they defended every inch of their territory. Especially in the defense of Sievjerodonetsk, which resulted in high Russian losses. Now the Russian armed forces are running out of breath,” he explains the currently sluggish progress of the invasion from the Russian perspective.