Russian media believes that the attachment of Russian troops to offensive operations in Bakhmut increases Ukraine’s offensive capabilities.

According to the Russian military bloggers, Ukrainian forces will prioritize attacking Berdyansk-Melitopol in the Zaporizhzhia region or Mariupol-Volnovakha in the Donetsk region in the south. Some experts argue that Ukrainian troops have enough combat power to launch a second counteroffensive elsewhere in the south along the Kupyansk-Svatov line in the northeastern Kharkiv region. Another Wagner Group blogger agrees with the ISW’s assessment that Ukrainian forces are grinding away the best available Russian infantry around Bakhmut in order to reduce Russian forces’ ability to stop any Ukrainian advances. As a result, he claims that the Ukrainian troops will be able to advance to the south and meet minimal Russian resistance there. Moreover, Russian Parliament member Dmitry Kuznetsov said the Ukrainian forces will destroy the Kerch Bridge. Therefore, he called for the rapid development of anti-personnel warfare to protect the critical communication landlines connecting Crimea with Russia.