1 Institute for the Study of War & AEI’s Critical Threats Project 2022
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment
Mason Clark and Kateryna Stepanenko
April 24, 3:00 pm ET
Russian offensive operations in eastern Ukraine made minor advances around
Severodonetsk on April 24, seizing several small towns and establishing a pontoon
bridge across the Krasna River west of Severodonetsk. Russia’s offensive in eastern Ukraine
continues to follow the pattern of their operations throughout the war, using small units to conduct
dispersed attacks along multiple axes rather than taking the pauses necessary to prepare for decisive
operations. Russian forces continued to bombard the remaining Ukrainian defenders in Mariupol’s
Azovstal Steel Plant and may be preparing for renewed assaults on the facility, which would likely lead
to high Russian casualties. The military situation in southern Ukraine did not change in the last 24
hours.
Key Takeaways
• Russian forces continued to pressure Ukrainian defenders in the Azovstal facility
in Mariupol.
• Ukrainian sources report that Russian troops are preparing to conduct renewed
assaults on Azovstal that would likely prove costly—possibly to meet a Kremlin-
imposed deadline to clear Mariupol—but ISW cannot independently confirm these
reports.
• Russian forces secured limited gains northwest of Severodonetsk but remain
unlikely to be able to launch massed offensive operations.
• Additional Russian forces are deploying to reinforce unsuccessful attacks on the
Izyum front.
• Ukrainian civilians in occupied Kharkiv Oblast are reportedly organizing
volunteer movements to resist Russian occupation measures, similar to previously
documented actions in southern Ukraine.
