Russian troops may give up plans to encircle Ukrainian forces on Izyum axis: ISW

Amid the ongoing brutal war between Russia and Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a United States-based think tank, claimed that the Russian military may give up plans to encircle Ukrainian forces on the Izyum axis. Instead, they might look to encircle Severodonetsk and Lysychansk cities, the ISW said in a statement. It also warned that Russian forces are likely to launch a ground offensive on or around Severodonetsk in the coming days. According to the ISW, the relative effectiveness of Russian operations in this area, along with their failure to advance from Izyum indicate that they may be abandoning the Izyum axis. 

"It is unclear if Russian forces can encircle, let alone capture, Severodonetsk and Lysychansk even if they focus their efforts on that much-reduced objective. Russian offensives have bogged down every time they hit a built-up area throughout this war, and these areas are unlikely to be different," the ISW claimed. It further outlined that the Ukrainian counteroffensive in and around Kharkiv is also forcing the Russian command to make "difficult decisions." According to the ISW, the Ukrainian counteroffensive in Kharkiv is looking somewhat similar to the counteroffensive that ultimately forced Russian soldiers out of Kyiv as well as entire Western Ukraine. 

'Peace accord with Russia would be 'too much of a compromise now'': Ukrainian official

Meanwhile, a member of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's closest circle stated that a peace accord with Russia would be "too much of a compromise now" given the atrocities that were inflicted on the civilians and the military forces. "If on the first day of the war we had been allowed to sign a version of the peace agreement like the one we have now, we would have done it without a second thought. But now the agreement seems too much of a compromise," the official told Ukrainska Pravda on the condition of anonymity. He also outlined how Russian President Vladimir Putin had to conquer Ukraine in 72 hours, and Ukraine's military was given the same amount of time to surrender to Russia's demands.  

Russia deploys more troops to Bryansk region's border areas: Ukraine

It is pertinent to mention here that Russian troops have sent more artillery to the Bryansk region's border areas, stepping up the attacks and firing on the Chernihiv region's settlements. In the latest war update, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that as of Friday, May 13, Russian troops did not halt offensive operations in the Eastern Operational Zone in an attempt to establish full control over the Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kherson regions. The Ukrainian military further claimed that Russians were attempting to build a land corridor between these areas and the temporarily occupied Crimea. 

Image: AP