Russia has concluded the first phase of its invasion of Ukraine, in what is interpreted as an acknowledgment that it has not been able to achieve the objectives set at the beginning of military operations.
Sergey Rudskoy, head of the main operational department of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, assured this Friday that, a month after the start of the invasion, they will focus their efforts on the “complete liberation” of the Donbas region, in the east of the country.
He also said that they had considered two options for their “special military operation” (as Moscow calls the invasion ) : one covering the whole of Ukraine and another focused on Donbas.
Rudskoy assured that the 93% of Luhansk and the 54% of Donetsk, both in the Donbas region and which Putin recognized as independent republics just over a month ago, are under Russian control.
The comments of Rudskoy, published by Russian state news agencies, point to a possible reduction of the war objectives of Russia, after the forces of Moscow hasyan encountered strong resistance in northern Ukraine and around kyiv, the capital.
According to Rudskoy, Russia has destroyed the vast majority of Ukraine’s air force and navy, which marked “the successful end” of the first phase of the conflict.
The Russian Defense Ministry did not rule out storming Ukrainian cities that have been blockaded and said that Russia will react immediately to any move to close the airspace over Ukraine, something that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly asked.
He also said that they would continue the invasion until achieve the goals set by Putin, without specification find out what those objectives were.
This Friday, for the second time since the beginning of the invasion, the Russian Ministry of Defense gave an update on its military casualties, stating that 1,675 of his soldiers have died and 3,825 have been injured.
Ukrainian military sources have previously estimated that up to 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed, although this figure may include wounded and dead. US intelligence suggests the figure may be half that number.
Analysis by Paul Adams, diplomatic correspondent for the BBC
Russia says that the “first phase” of what it calls its “special military operation” has been completed for the most part and that it will now concentrate on “the liberation of Donbas”.
This is likely to mean a more concerted effort to go beyond the “line of contact”. ” separating the Ukrainian government-controlled territory in the east of the country and the Russian-backed separatist “people’s republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Western officials believe the announcement implies that Moscow knows its strategy has failed.
“Russia is acknowledging that it cannot conduct its operations on multiple axes simultaneously”, one official said.
Western officials have been concerned They have been worried for some time that Russia will try to encircle the best Ukrainian combat units, which are stationed along the line of contact.
If more Russian firepower, particularly air power, is concentrated in eastern Ukraine, those concerns will increase.
“I hope that is where the Western arms supply makes a significant contribution to the Ukrainian forces,” an official said.
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