Despite the intense fighting, Russia and Ukraine are maintaining contact through humanitarian channels. For example, on June 5, the two sides carried out a prisoner exchange of 185 for 185. The United Arab Emirates reportedly played a significant mediating role in this process. However, despite progress on humanitarian issues, the intensity of mutual attacks continues to rise.
On the night of June 8, Ukraine launched a massive airstrike on Crimea and Sevastopol. A drone strike on a Moscow–Simferopol passenger train’s diesel locomotive wounded the engineer and killed the assistant engineer; the passengers were unharmed. Earlier, Ukrainian forces attacked the Chongar Bridge in northern Crimea. The next targets could be the bridges in Perekop and Armyansk. Logistics will be even more hampered for an indefinite period. Retail chains in Sevastopol are already imposing restrictions on the sale of critical products to prevent shortages.
In turn, Russia has begun actively attacking logistics routes between Sumy and Kharkiv with drones along sections of the H-12 and P-46 highways. This is primarily intended to affect the logistical support of Ukrainian troops and reduce their long-term combat effectiveness.
Russian combat aviation has also been operating actively in the Sumy region. On June 7, strikes were reported against drone control centers belonging to the 105th Territorial Defense Brigade in Velyka Pisarevka and the 119th Territorial Defense Brigade in Krasnopole. Destroying drone control centers is one of combat aviation’s top priorities in the current conflict.
In the Slavyansk sector, the city of Konstantinovka remains the main flashpoint. Over the past few days, the Russian army has made significant gains in the urban area. Advanced assault units have linked up near the Dmitrievka railway station in the city center. Consequently, all Ukrainian units remaining to the south have been surrounded. The Ukrainian command is beginning to see the developing operational situation as increasingly similar to the situation in Pokrovsk. Once again, a significant portion of Ukrainian forces has been encircled, prompting attempts to break the garrison’s siege. However, as with Pokrovsk, these attempts are unlikely to succeed. The encircled troops will likely resort to small-group tactics and attempt to infiltrate Russian positions under the cover of darkness. In effect, the city’s fate is already sealed.
The main question now is whether the Russian army can maintain its offensive at an increased pace for a long period of time. If not, Ukrainian units will retreat to pre-established positions near Druzhkivka. Druzhkivka is a town roughly the same size as Konstantinovka, so capturing it may also require considerable time and effort.
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