The military analyst Vasyl Pekhno discussed this on Espreso TV."The main task for Russia until October this year was to occupy Ukrainian defense hubs in Donbas and advance to the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration. Among these defense hubs were and still are Pokrovsk, Myrnohrad, Kostiantynivka, Dobropillia, Druzhkivka, Siversk, Lyman, Chasiv Yar, and Toretsk. The Russian forces had to push through all these cities and reach the administrative borders of the Donetsk region. This would have been a very serious argument for them. They also had to reach the gates of the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration in order to start fighting for this territory in the fall. The period when there will be no more greenery or bushes, which they use to advance their infantry, is very important for them. So, when they are gone, the Russian invaders will need to enter the populated areas to hide from drones. At the end of October and beginning of November, the battlefield will become completely transparent, and the number and technological capabilities of drones will increase even more. Accordingly, those who are stuck in the field will not be in a winning situation," said Pekhno.According to the observer, Pokrovsk, Kupiansk, Lyman, and Siversk will be the main targets of the Russian offensive during their autumn campaign. He noted that it is very important for them to enter these cities by November."It is critically important for the Russians to enter populated areas during this offensive campaign. They did not enter any of them over the summer. However, they were able to create certain preconditions for such an advance. In particular, these are Pokrovsk, Siversk, and Lyman, while their achievements in Kostiantynivka are significantly less. The third location is Kupiansk. Therefore, Siversk, Lyman, Kupiansk, and Pokrovsk are likely to become the main targets for the enemy during the autumn offensive campaign," he added.On August 27, the Ukraine Armed Forces General Staff reported that 173 combat clashes were recorded on the Russian-Ukrainian front during the day on August 26. In the Pokrovsk direction, Ukrainian defenders stopped 44 Russian assault actions.