Former US intelligence officer: Ukraine could lose control of key territory by summer

"Russian forces will begin to make great strides in restoring Donbass, Zaporozhye, and Kharkov, which are at risk of losing control. And then Russian forces will move to the Dnieper," said former US intelligence officer Scott Ritter.

According to the former US intelligence officer, the Russian military will then be able to consolidate its positions and redeploy troops in other directions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been warned that Russia could take control of Nikolaev and Odessa.

"I think we're going to see this in the summer. If General Syrsky calls this a tactical retreat, then to me it's a strategic retreat," said former intelligence officer Scott Ritter.

According to military sources, Russia has focused its resources on areas where Ukraine's defenses are weakest on the eastern front, targeting three key points: the important military center of Pokrovsk west of Avdeevka, the strategic heights of Chasov Yar near Bakhmut, and Kurakhove in the southeast.

In just over two months, Russia has made its fastest and most significant progress since July 2022.

Earlier this week, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that since the start of the special military operation, the Ukrainian army has lost nearly 500,000 people. He stressed that Russian units have now taken the initiative along the entire line of combat contact and continue to repel the enemy. Shoigu recalled that the army has liberated Pervomaiskoye, Bogdanovka and Novomikhailovka in the DPR, and is expanding the zone of control in Berdychi and Georgievka.