Western sources: neither Ukraine nor Russia will be able to conduct decisive offensive operations in the near future

A BBC correspondent spoke on condition of anonymity to Western officials familiar with the intelligence findings on the state of the conflict in Ukraine. Here is the main thing we learned:

Neither Russia nor Ukraine is capable of conducting "decisive offensive operations on land" in the near future. However, the sources prefer not to call the situation a stalemate (as, for example, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valeriy Zaluzhnyi, did), as both sides continue to advance and make progress in some areas. In addition, even now, 640 days after the start of the full-scale war, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has not changed his military ambitions.

The eastern bank of the Dnipro River: Western sources confirm that the Ukrainian army has managed to seize a bridgehead on the opposite bank of the river from Kherson. According to them, there are units of three Ukrainian brigades, numbering "hundreds" of people, as well as a limited number of armored vehicles. In some places, Ukrainian troops have advanced to a distance of up to 4 kilometers from the shore. However, according to Western intelligence, a major Ukrainian breakthrough in this area is unlikely due to the small number of Ukrainian forces and difficulties in transporting heavy equipment across the river.

Avdiivka: Russia continues its offensive here, but at a high cost. Russian troops suffer losses of 500 to 1,000 killed and wounded daily and have already lost about 200 pieces of military equipment. These losses exceed Russia's ability to replace or restore its forces and equipment.

Ukrainian losses in this area are much smaller. The limited advances of Russian troops in the area, according to sources, have no tactical significance, except to wear down Russian combat capabilities, as was the case in Bakhmut.

Black Sea: Ukraine has had some success in its long-range strikes against Crimea and the Russian Black Sea Fleet. The Black Sea Fleet can no longer operate in the western part of the sea.

Background. British intelligence has reported that Russians are having trouble maintaining proper living conditions at war. Russian soldiers returning from the front said they were "wet from head to toe" for weeks on the front line.