Expert: The Battle for Sloviansk Will Start in 2026 — What Awaits on the Front.

The Battle for Sloviansk Will Begin in 2026

According to ТСН: In 2026, active fighting for Sloviansk in Donetsk region is expected to start. This opinion was expressed by Mykola Melnyk, a veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war, a senior lieutenant, and an expert from the analytical group 'Leviathan' in his commentary.

“These are all inevitable things in the next year. There will be a battle for Sloviansk, the battle for Kramatorsk has already begun. The only question is what lessons we will learn from the war of 2025 and how we will fight in 2026,” the military emphasized.

According to him, the occupying forces will continue their offensive on Sloviansk, as Moscow has a strategic goal to occupy Donbas. However, strengthening control over the non-occupied cities will become a difficult task for the Russians, and Ukraine's success depends on several factors.

“In Sloviansk, one can fight for quite a long time, and in Kramatorsk, one can fight for quite a long time. The question is only how we will implement this, with what forces and means. It is a complex set of measures: building fortifications, effective mobilization efforts, proper functioning of the military-industrial complex, and learning from the mistakes of our commanders from previous generations,” he noted.

Melnyk also noted that during the offensive on Siversk, the Russians are using standard tactics that they already applied during the battles near Pokrovsk.

“When the Russians realized that it was quite difficult to enter the Pokrovsk-Myrnograd agglomeration due to the heights, they began to target our logistics routes and created a situation where we found ourselves first in a logistics encirclement and then in an actual one,” he explained.

In conclusion, analysts predict that Russia will likely not be able to quickly capture the entire Donetsk region. Data indicates that Russian forces are slowly concentrating on capturing Pokrovsk and Myrnograd, complicating their strategic plans.

These forecasts underscore the complexity of the situation on the front and the importance of Ukraine's preparation for future challenges. Timely responses to external threats and the need to improve military strategies are becoming increasingly relevant in light of the new realities of war.