Russians have taken control or captured 6 villages in Donbas over the past week. The New York Times reports.

The publication quotes military experts who believe that the Kremlin is trying to advance as far as possible before the delivery of American aid begins.

The breakthrough in Ocheretyne has put the Russians before a choice: to storm further here or to focus their efforts on the city of Chasiv Yar. Both of these settlements are very important for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as they open the road to Kostyantynivka, which is the main supply point for Ukrainian troops on most of the eastern front.

The New York Times writes that an offensive from the north and south could allow them to capture the city.

"Russian forces now have the ability to make significant operational success in the Chasiv Yar area," the publication cites a report by the Institute for the Study of War.

The head of the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation, Serhii Kuzan, believes that Russia's advance "will continue in the near future, depending on how quickly and to what extent Western aid arrives."

In his opinion, Ukraine's military leadership was making "a choice between a bad situation and an even worse one" and chose to lose territory rather than soldiers.