Despite the Ukrainian counter-offensive in the south of the country, according to British information, Russia is still concentrating on advancing in the east in its war of aggression.

The main axes of the Russian advance are near Avdiivka north of the city of Donetsk and around the city of Bakhmut further north, the Ministry of Defense in London said on Monday, citing its secret services. It is true that the Russian troops had recently had the most success in this area. However, they only advanced a kilometer a week towards Bachmut.

The reason for concentrating on eastern Ukraine is the political goal of conquering the entire Donetsk region. Then the Kremlin could announce the "liberation" of the entire Donbass region, according to the ministry. However, the prospects are poor. "Russian forces have very likely repeatedly missed deadlines to achieve this goal."

The ministry quoted Ukrainian authorities as saying that the Russian units should now complete the task by September 15. "It is very unlikely that the force will achieve this, which in turn will further complicate Russia's plans to hold referenda on the Occupied Territories' accession to the Russian Federation."

The British Ministry of Defense has published information on the course of the war every day since the start of the Russian war of aggression in late February. Moscow accuses London of a targeted disinformation campaign.