The Russian army is currently advancing in five main directions - Avdiivka, Maryinka, Robotyne, Kreminna and Bakhmut. The situation at the front is the most threatening since the beginning of the full-scale war, The New York Times reports.

The publication notes that it is unclear how far the Russians will be able to advance beyond Avdiivka and how well the Ukrainian troops have built their next lines of defense. But the next major population centers, home to tens of thousands of civilians, are only about 50 kilometers to the west.

The capture of the destroyed Maryinka, the NYT writes, allowed Russian forces to turn their attention to another important stronghold, Vuhledar. Last year, they repeatedly tried to attack Vuhledar from the south and suffered catastrophic losses, but now they can attack the settlement from the north. They are currently advancing through the village of Novomykhailivka.

The publication notes that, according to Ukrainian officials, Russia is holding about 40,000 people in the Mariupol area to be used for attacks from the south.

Russian troops are also trying to neutralize the achievements of the Ukrainian Armed Forces during the counteroffensive last summer, in particular, to retake Robotyne. According to some data, more troops are concentrated there than in the Avdiivka direction.

In addition, the Russians are advancing from Kreminna to retake the cities in the northeast that they lost in late 2022. They are moving towards Kupyansk and Lyman.

The publication writes that the initiative has passed to the Russians in the Bakhmut direction. Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said that Russian troops intend to break through their defenses around Chasiv Yar, which will give them control over the commanding heights in the area and subject Kramatorsk to intense artillery shelling.

It is noted that, according to Ukraine's estimates, there are about 62 thousand Russian troops in the Bakhmut direction.