Russian units, from the regular army and the Wagner paramilitary group are regrouping in Soledar, which they recently captured, north of Bakhmut.
Also in the east, Ukrainian troops had made minor gains near Kreminna in the Luhansk region.
In the south, both sides had massed significant forces in the Zaporizhzhya region. Artillery fights and smaller clashes were taking place, but so far there was no major offensive.
The assessment comes after Ukraine's backers spent Friday weighing whether to send Kiev heavier battle tanks, as have been repeatedly requested by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
He was disappointed that Germany did not decide whether to send Leopard 2 tanks during the Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting at the US air base in Ramstein in western Germany.
Pressure has been mounting steadily on Germany to send its battle tanks to help Ukraine and to let allies to do likewise.
