President's Office assesses Russia's plans for an offensive to the south
Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Pavlo Palisa said that the Russian leadership continues to consider scenarios for the seizure of a number of Ukrainian cities, particularly in the south of the country.
According to him, Moscow has not abandoned its plans to fully occupy the Donetsk region.
What are Russia's plans?
According to Palisa, the Kremlin:
- is considering the creation of a buffer zone in Kharkiv and Sumy regions;
- maintains strategic ambitions for further advancement.
At the same time, the official stressed that these intentions remain mostly declarative.
Assessment of Russian capabilities
As of now, Palisa said, Russian troops objectively do not have the capacity to implement such large-scale plans within the next six months.
He also noted that it would take the Russian army approximately one and a half years to occupy approximately 6,000 square kilometres of the territory of Donetsk region that is under Ukrainian control.
Context.
The statement came amid ongoing hostilities in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Military analysts point out that the pace of Russian troop advances has recently remained limited, despite the preservation of offensive capabilities.
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