Russia has stated that its invasion of Ukraine will be focused on “liberating” the east, indicating a probable shift in approach.
According to the defense ministry, the war’s basic objectives have been met, and Russia has degraded Ukraine’s fighting capability.
Russia’s invasion appeared to be geared at conquering large cities and removing the regime as quickly as possible.
However, it has come to a halt due to the vehement Ukrainian opposition.
Sergei Rudskoy, head of the General Staff’s main operations administration, said, “The key duties of the first stage of the operation have been carried out.”
“The combat capabilities of the Ukrainian armed forces have been significantly weakened, allowing us to focus our efforts on the main goal: the liberation of Donbas,” he added, referring to a territory in eastern Ukraine mostly controlled by Russian-backed rebels.
Russia’s military has been bombarding and attempting to encircle important Ukrainian cities such as Kyiv, the capital, in an attempt, according to Gen Rudskoy, to tie down Ukraine’s forces elsewhere in the country while Russia concentrates on the east.
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, said his troops had struck Russia with “strong blows” and urged Moscow to acknowledge the necessity for real peace talks.
“By limiting Russia’s actions, our defenders are persuading the Russian leadership to a clear and obvious conclusion: dialogue is required.
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For the sake of the outcome, rather than the wait, “he stated
The exact end goal of Russia’s invasion has not been stated, but President Vladimir Putin has described the objectives as “demilitarization” and “denazification” of Ukraine, describing the government’s leaders as a neo-Nazi junta responsible for the deaths of millions of Russian speakers in a genocide.
The allegations are without merit, and Ukraine and its Western allies dismiss them as a pretext for an unjustified conflict.
Russian troops attempted to encircle Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.
They were beaten back by Ukraine’s military, which is currently attempting to surround hundreds of Russian soldiers, after bombing and then taking several towns in the northwestern part of the country.
A US defense official claimed on Friday that Russia has made no progress in its assault on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city and that Ukraine may retake Kherson.
Russia’s army has had more success in the south, capturing towns and cities like Kherson, as well as making minor victories in the east.
Moscow maintains that Russian-backed rebels hold 93 percent of the Donbas territory of Luhansk, with 54 percent of the second Donbas province, Donetsk, in their hands.
Before the war, separatists controlled more than a third of the entire region.
Andriy Yermak, Ukraine’s President Zelensky’s chief of staff, warned against the assumption that Russia had abandoned aspirations to annex the rest of the country.
“It’s a great risk to make a public forecast before the battle is over, especially when you’re fighting against one of the world’s largest armies,” he says.
