Forbes Named The Main Reason For The Failure Of Russia's Summer Offensive

There is no obvious solution to this problem for Russia at the moment.

Repeated failures of the Russian Armed Forces to overcome water obstacles have resulted in significant losses for the occupation army and are preventing a successful Russian summer offensive in 2025.

River crossing remains one of the Russian army's biggest challenges throughout the war and significantly affects the situation at the front, writes Forbes.

The journalists recalled how in May 2022, the AFU destroyed an entire battalion-tactical group of the Russian army in a single day, catching it trying to force the Seversky Donets River in the east. And the Dnieper played an important role in the battle for Kherson, eventually forcing the Russians to abandon the city in November 2022.

The Oskol River in Kharkiv Oblast, which had long been an important Ukrainian defense line north of Kupyansk, was also a problem for the Russians. Unfortunately, a significant numerical advantage in manpower ensured that the Russians were able to establish a fairly large bridgehead on the "Ukrainian" side of the river during this year.

The crossing of the Oskol cost the Russians significant losses. But even this relatively shallow river continues to pose problems for the occupiers in their further advance on Kupyansk. The fact is that the troops on the bridgehead must somehow be provided for, and even more so strengthened, in order to continue the offensive. In the absence of fixed bridges, this means constant losses every time they try to move something across the river.

"In mid-July, Russian troops tried to build a pontoon bridge across the Oskol, but this attempt also failed. Although some Russian soldiers crossed the river, the inability to transport armored units severely limited their offensive capabilities and prevented any operational breakthrough in the northeast," the piece said.

The journalists stressed that there is no obvious solution to this problem for Russia at the moment, as overcoming water obstacles has always been one of the most difficult and dangerous types of military operations.

"Although the Russian-Ukrainian war is often associated with the rapid introduction of the Russia's repeated failures in these operations have resulted in significant losses and are now a major obstacle to the success of their summer offensive," the authors of the material noted.

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