The Russian military has stepped up since January its assaults on the Ukrainian positions in the Donbass, without succeeding in breaking through the lines of defense of the kyiv forces.
This offensive follows the mobilization of 300,000 reservists by the Russian army during the fall of 2022, but also to the enlistment of tens of thousands of prisoners by the Wagner mercenary group.
According to some experts, this offensive would aim as much to prevent Ukraine from counter-attacking as to break through the front.