The first phase is almost complete, now we are conquering Donbas, reporting Russia and changing strategy – HNonline.sk

Russia’s defense ministry said today that the first phase of its military operation in Ukraine had largely been completed. He is now said to focus on the complete “liberation” of eastern Ukraine’s Donbas, Reuters reported. Sudden change after failure? According to the Reuters report, Russia seems to be changing its strategy and focusing on more modest targets after it encountered stiff resistance from Ukrainians in the first month of the war and failed to occupy the capital, Kiev, for example. Russian news agencies quoted the Defense Ministry as saying that Russian-backed separatists now controlled 93 percent of the Luhansk region and 54 percent of the Donetsk region, which together made up the Donbas. The ministry did not rule out attacks on besieged Ukrainian cities. It also announced that Russia would respond immediately to any attempt to close airspace over Ukraine. Kiev has asked the North Atlantic Alliance for this measure, but it is rejecting it for fear of spreading the Ukrainian war. Until they fulfill their tasks, the Ministry of Defense also stated without further details that the operation will continue until Russian forces fulfill the set tasks. According to the office, the Russian army was considering two versions of its operation, one limited to the Donbas and the other throughout Ukraine. On February 24, Russia sent tens of thousands of troops to Ukraine as part of what it calls a “special military operation.” The Kremlin defends the invasion by the need for the neighboring country to demilitarize, “denacify” and prevent the alleged genocide of the Russian-speaking population. Ukraine’s armed forces are putting up stiff resistance from Russia. The West has imposed the most extensive sanctions on Moscow in an effort to force Russian President Vladimir Putin into a ceasefire.