Russian forces have sharply escalated their offensive operations across several axes of the front, with Ukrainian analysts warning of heightened battlefield pressure and a shift in drone strike tactics aimed at urban populations.
According to the Ukrainian military monitoring group DeepState, Russian troops have launched over 200 assault operations daily for two consecutive days, marking a marked rise in battlefield activity.
“The number of attacks in the first 26 days of March is already 17% higher than the total attacks recorded during all 28 days of February,” analysts reported.
The uptick in hostilities is concentrated in the Lyman, Pokrovsk, and Vremivka sectors, as well as the northern border regions, particularly along the Sumy and Kursk frontiers. Ukrainian forces are reporting sustained pressure along these lines as Russian ground units continue to push forward with renewed momentum.
In addition to intensified ground assaults, Ukraine’s Air Force said Russian forces launched an unprecedented wave of kamikaze drones overnight. “A total of 172 Shahed drones were used in attacks targeting civilian and industrial infrastructure,” the Air Force said in a statement.
Dnipropetrovsk region, including the city of Dnipro, suffered one of the most extensive drone attacks to date, with dozens of drones striking multiple locations in a concentrated nighttime barrage. The Air Force noted a change in Russian tactics, with strikes increasingly aimed at entire residential districts in an apparent attempt to spread terror and sow panic.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky, in an interview with Le Figaro cited by Le Monde, said Russia is actively preparing for a new ground offensive in the northeastern Sumy and Kharkiv regions. “We see preparations underway for this future operation. We have shared this intelligence with our allies,” Zelensky stated, adding that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin is using ceasefire discussions to buy time for renewed offensive operations.
Ukrainian officials say the timing and scale of the recent attacks suggest Moscow is preparing for a spring campaign to regain momentum amid negotiations.