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 that it set at the beginning of the 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. from the country.
He also said that they had considered two options for their “special military operation” (as Moscow calls the invasion): one covering all of Ukraine and one focused on Donbas.
Rudskoy assured that 93% of Luhansk and 54% of Donetsk, both in the Donbas region and which Putin recognized as independent republics just over a month ago, are under Russian control.
Rudskoy’s comments, carried by Russian state news agencies, point to a possible reduction in Russia’s war aims, after Moscow’s forces have encountered heavy 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, marking “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 Russia would immediately react to any move to close airspace over Ukraine, something Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly called for.
He also said that they would continue the invasion until they achieve the goals set by Putin, without specifying what those goals were.
This Friday, for the second time since the beginning of the invasion, the Russian Defense Ministry gave an update on its military casualties, stating that 1,351 of its soldiers have been killed and 3,825 have been wounded.
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, BBC diplomatic correspondent
Russia says that the “first phase” of what it calls its “special military operation” has been mostly completed and that it will now concentrate on “the liberation of Donbas.”
This is likely to mean a more concerted effort to go beyond the “contact line” separating Ukrainian government-controlled territory in the country’s east from the Russian-backed breakaway “people’s republics” of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Western officials believe the announcement implies Moscow knows its strategy has failed.
“Russia is recognizing that it cannot conduct its operations on multiple axes simultaneously,” an official said.
Western officials have been concerned for some time that Russia is trying to encircle Ukraine’s best 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 grow.
“I hope that is where Western arms supplies will make a significant contribution to the Ukrainian forces,” an official said.