1 Institute for the Study of War & AEI’s Critical Threats Project 2022
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment
Kateryna Stepanenko, Karolina Hird, Mason Clark, and George Barros
June 7, 6:45 pm ET
Click here to see ISW's interactive map of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This map is
updated daily alongside the static maps present in this report.
Russian forces continued offensive operations in several locations in eastern Ukraine
but did not secure any confirmed gains in ground assaults on June 7. Russian forces have
likely captured most of Severodonetsk, but ISW cannot confirm the exact control of terrain within the
city.
Russian forces additionally redeployed troops east of Bakhmut to renew offensives to secure
access to highways northeast of Bakhmut and threaten Ukrainian lines of communication.
Russian
troops north of Slovyansk will likely seek to advance toward Slovyansk and Kramatorsk from positions
north of the city.
Russian forces on the Southern Axis are reportedly redeploying away from Zaporizhia
Oblast toward Kherson Oblast, likely in order to support Russian defensive positions that have been
threatened by Ukrainian counterattacks along the Mykolaiv-Kherson Oblast border south of Davydiv
Brid.
Members of the Russian military community are accusing Ukrainian forces of escalating
artillery attacks on Russian rear areas in a likely attempt to dissuade further Western
support to the Ukrainian military. Former FSB agent Igor Girkin (also known as Strelkov) accused
Ukrainian troops of perpetrating “terrorist attacks” against residential areas of Donetsk City, Horlivka,
and Makiivka.
A Russian source additionally accused Ukrainian forces of firing on Shyroka Balka,
Kherson Oblast.
Ukrainian social media users denied the claims and stated that they are likely false-
flag attempts to spoil Western opinion of the Ukrainian military and halt military aid to the Ukrainian
Armed Forces.
The Kremlin’s efforts to censor information about deceased military personnel and
ongoing forced mobilization within the DNR and LNR are reportedly exacerbating
domestic tensions and opposition to the war in Russia. The Ukrainian Military Intelligence
Directorate (GUR) reported that the Kremlin assigned lawyers and psychologists to convince families
of personnel of the sunken cruiser Moskva to refrain from disclosing any information regarding the
deaths of their relatives in an effort to crush rising social tensions in Russia.
The GUR stated that the
Kremlin is threatening to nullify financial compensation to the families of Moskva crew members if they
publicly discuss the sinking of the cruiser, resulting in some relatives refusing to meet with Black Sesa
Fleet commanders in Sevastopol in protest. Ukrainian media sources separately reported that the
Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) altered mobilization protocols and is now promising compensation
for wounded and deceased personnel due to DNR servicemen rioting at the frontlines.
Domestic Russian complaints about the maltreatment and lack of preparation among
Russian combat forces are likely prompting the Kremlin to take rhetorical steps to curb
discontent. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu stated that new conscripts during the summer
training period will be trained with specific attention to lessons learned so far in Ukraine during a
meeting with the National Defense Management Center (NDCC) (the supreme command center of the
Russian Armed Forces and Defense Ministry) on June 7. Shoigu added that summer conscripts will
learn battlefield first aid, likely responding to criticisms by members of the Russian military community
of poor tactics and lack of first aid acumen among Russian soldiers.
However, the Russian military is
unlikely to properly train and equip Russian conscripts rushed to the front as replacements and likely
primarily seeks to mollify public discontent. Former DNR Security Minister and milblogger Alexander
