The story goes on under the ad Developments have given Ukraine an opportunity, observers say, to gain the upper hand. But that could come at a price, as Moscow shows no sign of being willing to abandon President Vladimir Putin’s ultimate goal, which US officials say is to “weaken Ukraine as much as possible,” Sullivan said. “All indications are that Russia will seek to encircle and crush Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine,” he said, adding that US estimates indicated that Russia was preparing to deploy “tens of additional battalions of tens of thousands” of troops. in the east of Ukraine. “We must not have illusions that Russia will adjust its tactics, which they have included and will likely continue to include unpredictable and brazen attacks on civilian targets,” Sullivan said. Moscow, he said, is likely to continue airstrikes and missile strikes across the country – in cities such as Kyiv, Odessa, Kharkov and Lviv – as it refocuses on targets in the east. Putin’s intention, Sullivan argued, “is to cause military and financial damage and, frankly, to cause terror.” The story goes on under the ad Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, now in its sixth week, has claimed thousands of lives on both sides. Images of scorched earth and death – including mass graves in Kiev’s Bucha suburb that have further fueled war crimes charges – have taken stock of the conflict. The staggering loss of human life makes it unlikely that either side will be prepared to conclude a peace deal any time soon, observers say. “Ukraine has the momentum and is less likely to make concessions,” said Rob Lee, a Russian military expert and senior associate. with the Institute for Foreign Policy Research. After the discovery of atrocities in Bouha, he added, “I think concessions are even less likely.” The issue for Russia “The more victims, the harder it will be to find a compromise.” However, neither side has the ability to win the upper hand quickly. Ukrainian forces are likely to be able to re-emerge in the eastern part of the country faster than Russia can repatriate assets it is withdrawing from Kyiv. But Ukraine does not have overwhelming operational control of its skies – nor the full use of Russian machinery it has seized to bolster its military operation. The story goes on under the ad On the Russian side, the strategic unification of manpower and firepower in the east alone will not solve Moscow’s growing problem of deterioration. “At this stage, Russian power is being exploited. “Without national mobilization, there are very hard limits to what is available in terms of combat power,” said Michael Koffman, a Russian military expert at the CNA, a Washington-based think tank. The unique The way out for Putin, Koffman said, is to make a huge policy change, acknowledging to the Russian people that the Ukrainian attack is not a “special operation” as he claimed, but a complete “war” that allows him to call in additional forces. from all over the country. “The Russian political leadership will have a very important choice to make,” Coffman said. “They can not support a war with Ukraine as a ‘special operation.’ “They try to have it in both ways.” It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post. “We are not sure what the long-term goal here is for Mr. Putin,” a senior U.S. defense official said Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity at the Pentagon. Donbass is clearly the Russian priority, the official added, but it is “completely unclear” to US officials where things could go. The story goes on under the ad In comments Monday, Sullivan predicted that Russia would try to take advantage of regular battalions moving from Kyiv to eastern Ukraine in an effort to defeat forces loyal to Kyiv in the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces. “In order to protect any territory it occupies in the east, we expect that Russia could potentially expand its presence and presence even deeper into Ukraine. “At least that is their intention and their plan,” he added. But that will take time – and some experts are skeptical that it will ever be possible for Putin to achieve such goals. “I just do not understand how, given the material constraints, they could hope to wage a long war with these big goals,” Coffman told the Russian side. “It simply came to our notice then. “They will run out of troops.” Alex Horton contributed to this report.
