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Instute for the Study of War and AEI’s Crical Threats Project
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, April 18, 2023
Kateryna Stepanenko, Grace Mappes, Nicole Wolkov, George Barros, and Frederick W.
Kagan
April 18, 8 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.
Click here to access ISW’s archive of interactive time-lapse maps of the Russian
invasion of Ukraine. These maps complement the static control-of-terrain map that
ISW produces daily by showing a dynamic frontline. ISW will update this time-lapse
map archive monthly.
Russian President Vladimir Putin continued to portray himself as a wartime leader in
anticipation of a planned Ukrainian counteroffensive during his visit to occupied
Kherson and Luhansk oblasts. The Kremlin announced on April 18 that Putin visited the
headquarters of the Russian Dnepr Group of Forces in Kherson Oblast and the Vostok National Guard
headquarters in occupied Luhansk Oblast.[1] Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed that
Putin visited occupied territories on April 17. Putin, however, stated that Orthodox Easter holiday is
“coming up” in one of the videos, which suggests that his visit occurred prior to April 16.[2] The
Kremlin later edited the video to exclude Putin’s statement about the then-upcoming East holiday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the Avdiivka frontline on April 18, and it is possible
the Kremlin deliberately released footage of Putin’s visit to overshadow Zelensky’s visit in the
information space.[3] ISW reported on Russian milbloggers criticizing Russian officials for failing to
visit the frontlines like Zelensky, and Putin had previously visited occupied Mariupol on March 19 to
improve his appearance as a wartime leader.[4] Russian occupation officials and milbloggers
celebrated Putin’s visit and claimed that he boosted the morale of Russian servicemen preparing to
repel Ukrainian counteroffensives.[5] Geolocated footage shows that Putin visited Arabat Spit in
southwestern Kherson Oblast - at least 130km from the nearest frontline.[6]
Putin’s visit likely also intended to publicly identify potential scapegoats ahead of the
planned Ukrainian counteroffensives. Putin received briefings from Commander of Russian
Airborne Forces (VDV) Colonel General Mikhail Teplinsky, Commander of the Dnepr Group of Forces
Colonel General Oleg Makarevich, and other unnamed military commanders regarding the situation
along the Kherson and Zaporizhia frontlines.[7] Putin also met with Colonel General Alexander Lapin
and other unnamed top-ranking officers to discuss the situation on the Luhansk frontline. Putin likely
deliberately singled out Teplinsky and Makarevich as commanders responsible for southern Ukraine,
and Lapin as a commander overseeing the Luhansk direction. Putin, Kremlin sources, and
milbloggers have been increasingly discussing the prospects for a Ukrainian counteroffensive, and it
is likely that the Kremlin is preparing the domestic information space for either military failures or
the defeat of the counteroffensive threat.[8]
Putin’s demonstrative meetings with Teplinsky, Makarevich, and Lapin likely confirm
another change in military command and possibly within the Kremlin’s inner circle. A
Kremlin-affiliated milblogger observed that the Chief of the Russian General Staff Army General
Valery Gerasimov and Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu did not attend Putin’s meetings in occupied
