ISW recently assessed that Russian forces have initially made significant advances in and around Pokrovsk after successfully achieving partial battlefield air interdiction (BAI) effects that degraded Ukrainian GLOCs and enabled Russian infiltration missions.[16] Russian forces also relied on poor weather conditions to bypass the Ukrainian “wall of drones” and infiltrate weak spots in the Ukrainian defensive lines in the Pokrovsk direction.[17] Russian forces have been attempting to replicate this new campaign design in the Velykomykhailivka and Hulyaipole directions.[18] Russian forces appear to be employing this campaign design in the Siversk and Slovyansk-Lyman directions to put pressure on the Fortress Belt – Ukraine’s main defensive line in Donetsk Oblast. Russian forces will likely further conduct infiltrations into Siversk and may attempt to infiltrate into Lyman but will likely need to allocate significant manpower, materiel, and time to recreate their Pokrovsk successes.[19] Russian forces have been faltering in their ability to coherently apply this offensive template in the Pokrovsk direction, highlighting the broader challenges Russian forces will face when operationalizing this campaign design throughout the entire theater.