Military expert Oleg Zhdanov believes that if Russia fails to advance further, the Kremlin may declare the occupation of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions as a “successful fulfillment of the goals” of the so-called “special military operation”.
This was reported by “URA-Inform” with reference to Dialog.
Zhdanov also noted that if additional reserves are found, the occupiers may try to seize the Zaporizhia region as well:
«If they reach Kurakhovo, there is a junction further on. They will need to either turn to Zaporozhye, or turn north along the administrative border of Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk, and then Kharkiv regions. That is the question. I think it will be divided into several stages. Most likely, the Russian army today sets task No. 1 to capture the administrative borders of Luhansk and Donetsk regions».
In his opinion, Russian President Vladimir Putin has two scenarios for «victory» in Ukraine, and which one will be presented to the Russians depends on the current situation.
«Then it will most likely depend on the situation. Putin will announce the completion of the “tasks” of the “SVO” if there are not enough forces and resources, and if there are enough forces and resources, then there will be a second stage – the capture of the Zaporizhia region, and then the Kherson region, because it is easier to move to the left bank of the Dnieper in the Zaporizhia region.
How the Kremlin reacted to Scholz's statement about its readiness to negotiate with Putin: Peskov's statement.
