Russian president Vladimir Putin, speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum international conference in Vladivostok, has once again highlighted that the conquest (or liberation) of the Donbas region – comprised of the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts – is his military’s ‘first-priority goal’.
Putin says that Kiev made a mistake in deploying ‘fairly large and well-trained units’ to the Kursk offensive in Russian territory.
New York Times reported:
“’The enemy’s goal was to make us nervous and worry and to transfer troops from one sector to another and stop our offensive in key areas, primarily in the Donbas’, Mr. Putin said at the conference. ‘Did it work or no? No’. […] ‘The enemy weakened itself in key areas, and our troops accelerated offensive operations’. […] ‘Most importantly, no actions are taking place to contain our offensive’, he added.”
The fight for the Donbas has been raging since 2014, and now, in the third year of the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin is nearer than ever in its quest to add this region to its territory, even if some of the most important cities are still to be conquered.
Lately, significant progress has been made in the direction of Pokrovsk, a vital logistics hub for Ukraine, and the largest city to be raided since Bakhmut.
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A large bulge that extends about 20 miles deep through the center of Ukraine’s defenses in the region has now been established.
“Ukraine’s military commander, Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky, told CNN on Thursday that the defense of Pokrovsk is being bolstered and claimed that Ukraine had halted the Russians’ direct assault toward the city, for the moment.”
Many other strongholds are under attack, such as Chasov Yar, Toretsk and Ugledar.
If some (or all) these strongholds were to fall, it would lead to a wider breakdown of the overall defenses in the region.
Behind the Ukrainian cross-border adventure in Kursk, lies the bet that other parts of the 750-mile front won’t collapse.
But the Kursk offensive has not eased thepressure on the eastern front in the least.
Since the beginning, Putin’s theory of victory has been predicated on the idea that he can wage a war of attrition and outlast the West’s willingness and capability to provide robust military support to Kiev.
“[Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky has his own vision for how Ukraine could achieve victory and has said that he will present his plan to President Biden — as well as former President Donald J. Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris — when he travels to the United States later this month. ‘For our part, we definitely want the war to end’.”
So far, the developments on the ground have not led to a change in U.S. policy prohibiting the use of long-range weapons to hit deep inside Russia.
Read: Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba Resigns, Ahead of a Major Cabinet Reshuffle by Zelensky
And this week, Zelensky effected a sweeping overhaul of his wartime cabinet, that is not expected to fundamentally change things in the war.
“It is expected that key foreign policy decisions will remain tightly controlled by the president’s office, a system that is likely to increase criticism against the administration, which has been accused of consolidating too much power within a small circle.”
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