Russian offensive plans extend beyond Donbas, Zelenskyy says
REUTERS/Stringer/File Photo
Russian operational planning
for 2026–27 includes new offensives in southern Ukraine, even if Moscow currently
lacks reserves to implement them, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said
on March 2.
Zelenskyy said intelligence shows Moscow’s aims and the directions it considers a priority: full occupation of Donbas, further operations in Zaporizhzhya Oblast and toward Dnipro City, with an eye on Odesa.
He added that these plans cannot be realized: Russia simply lacks forces to do so, according to the Ukrainian leader.
“Their maps do not match reality — where our forces are and where their forces are,” Ukrainian state news agency Ukrinform quoted Zelenskyy.
“They cannot launch the March offensive the way they wanted.”
Brig. Gen. Pavlo Palisa, deputy head of the presidential office, previously told RFE/RL that Russian forces have not abandoned plans to capture the entire Donetsk Oblast and to prepare for offensives on four Ukrainian regional capitals: Zaporizhzhya, Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Odesa. He said he does not see Moscow able to carry out those plans in the next six months.
On Feb. 24, Palisa said Russia hopes to fully occupy
Donetsk Oblast by late March or early April.
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