Putin's plans for a full-scale occupation of Donetsk Oblast are falling apart again: expert
Once again, the Russian leadership has failed to meet the deadlines it had set for seizing the entire Donetsk region. According to military analyst and reserve major Oleksiy Getman, dictator Vladimir Putin previously claimed that it would take Russia only a few months to establish control over Donbas, but these predictions never came true. Now, the expert notes, the Kremlin is setting a new deadline—by November. In his view, the reaction of international partners, particularly U.S. President Donald Trump, to such statements may indicate their stance on Russia’s plans regarding Ukraine.
In particular, the expert commented on reports that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, in a letter to U.S. President Donald Trump, expressed confidence that the entire Donetsk region would be captured by November 2026.
"If we know what is written in Putin’s letter to Trump, then I am confident that diplomats will remind Trump that, prior to the meeting in Alaska, Putin said he needed 60 days to fully capture the Donbas. Those 60 days ended on September 2, 2025. Then, ten days later, he stated that it would take 50 days for the war to stop,” Hetman noted.
At the same time, in his opinion, Trump needs to be reminded that Putin has made such statements about Russia’s capture of Donbas before.
"This has happened before. Now it’s until November. He won’t manage it in 60 days. Now it’s more than 100 days, give me 120 days… It didn’t happen then, it didn’t happen now. But if Trump doesn’t react to this—that there were already 60 days, and now another 120 days… What happened? A year ago, it was 60 days. A year has passed, and now it’s over 100 days again. If he doesn’t react to this the way a sane person would, then we can assume whose side Trump is on. It will simply be obvious,” Getman believes.
This opinion was expressed by military analyst and Reserve Major Oleksiy Getman during a broadcast on
">Radio NV.Ukraine is ready for negotiations with Russia without making concessions regarding its territories.
Zelenskyy published an open letter to Putin – full text.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov stated that Moscow is allegedly ready for negotiations to end the war against Ukraine, but sees no willingness for dialogue on the Ukrainian side.
Putin is not changing course and continues to finance the war.
