No "operational pause" observed: President Zelenskyy mentions 34 Russian air raids in the space of a day

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that during the day, the Russian occupiers carried out 34 air raids. According to the head of state, this indicates the absence of any operational pause in their actions.

"In the past week, there was a lot of talk about the alleged operational pause in the actions of the occupiers in Donbas and other parts of Ukraine. 34 airstrikes by Russian aircraft over the past 24 hours are an answer to all those who made up this pause," Zelenskyy said in a traditional evening video message posted on July 10.

The president emphasized that the Ukrainian army is holding its ground and repelling assaults on various axes, but "a lot more needs to be done so that Russian losses become such that there will really be a pause." Moreover, as Zelensky noted, this pause will be not before a new offensive, but before "the escape of the occupiers from Ukrainian land."

What operational pause?

President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, ordered on July 4 a "rest" for the Russian troops that took part in the occupation of the Luhansk Oblast. According to analysts at the Institute for the Study of War, Russian forces need a significant period of rest and retraining before resuming large-scale offensive operations.

The ISW said that the Russian troops had largely taken an "operational pause" because the Russian Federation had not declared its "territorial gains" in Ukraine since July 3. At the same time, Russians continue to conduct more limited offensives along the front line, as they are aware of the danger of the Ukrainians seizing the initiative, analysts say.

The American institute added that when the Russian military command decides it is sufficiently ready to resume a major offensive operation, it is likely to "resume larger-scale ground offensives with more troops and a greater determination than it is currently showing." According to analysts, the end of the operational pause may be gradual and not immediately noticeable.