Syrian forces are positioning for a major push in eastern Aleppo, with armor and infantry massed around Deir Hafer and Maskanah and artillery already working to soften the ground. 

The objective is blunt and familiar: force Kurdish units east of the Euphrates and reassert control over a corridor that has long frustrated Damascus and Ankara alike.

This is unfolding despite a late-night appeal from the U.S. Central Command commander calling for restraint. On the ground, that appeal has translated into exactly nothing. Artillery is speaking, and it is speaking loudly.