Putin Wants to Reach the Borders of Donetsk and Luhansk Regions by the End of the Year, Says Palisa
The Russian political leadership has tasked the Russian military command with reaching the administrative borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions by December 31. At the same time, according to the Ukrainian side, Russian military officials consider this deadline unrealistic and are asking for it to be extended to March 31.
According to Palisa, the main objective of Russian forces in the east remains reaching the administrative borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
At the same time, the Kremlin is demanding that the military complete this task by December 31. The Russian command, as noted by the Office of the President representative, is requesting an extension of the deadline to March 31, as it considers the December deadline unrealistic.
“The enemy’s main objective in the east remains reaching the administrative borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Kremlin leadership is demanding that its military reach them by December 31. The Russian command considers such deadlines unrealistic and is requesting an extension until March 31. In my opinion, even this deadline seems too optimistic for the enemy,” Palisa said.
Thus, the Russian command may face significant difficulties in fulfilling the task set by the Kremlin, even if the deadline is extended until spring.
Palisa also reported that Ukrainian intelligence services had received information about Russia’s preparations for possible operations in the direction of Kyiv and Chernihiv.
According to him, this information has been confirmed by several sources. The Russian military leadership has been tasked by the political leadership with developing several possible options for conducting such an operation.
At the same time, the representative of the Office of the President emphasized that the preparation of possible scenarios does not mean the start of an offensive.
Currently, the Ukrainian military has not detected the formation of Russian offensive groups in the northern sectors.
“Despite these plans, we are not currently observing the formation of offensive groups in the northern sectors,” Palisa said.
Thus, Russia continues to exert pressure in the east while simultaneously developing potential scenarios for action in the north; however, no signs of immediate preparations for an offensive against Kyiv or Chernihiv have been detected so far.
Pavlo Palisa, deputy head of the Office of the President, made this statement during a briefing with media representatives.
The Russian military leadership has been tasked by the Kremlin with developing several possible scenarios for an operation in the direction of Kyiv and Chernihiv. At the same time, Ukraine has not yet detected the formation of a Russian offensive force in these areas.
Russia has not ruled out the theoretical possibility of an offensive from the Bryansk region toward the Chernihiv and Kyiv regions. However, no Russian troops have been detected in the Bryansk region along this route at this time, although the Ukrainian military has observed Russian military equipment along the border.
Ukrainian defense forces have almost completely liberated the Dnipropetrovsk region from Russian troops. According to Volodymyr Zelenskyy, approximately 10 square kilometers remain under Russian control—three small villages where, as the president claims, there are virtually no Russian troops left.
