Russian president Vladimir Putin, speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum international conference in Vladivostok, has once again highlighted that the conquest (or liberation) of the Donbas region – comprised of the Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts – is his military’s ‘first-priority goal’.
Putin says that Kiev made a mistake in deploying ‘fairly large and well-trained units’ to the Kursk offensive in Russian territory.
New York Times reported:
“’The enemy’s goal was to make us nervous and worry and to transfer troops from one sector to another and stop our offensive in key areas, primarily in the Donbas’, Mr. Putin said at the conference. ‘Did it work or no? No’. […] ‘The enemy weakened itself in key areas, and our troops accelerated offensive operations’. […] ‘Most importantly, no actions are taking place to contain our offensive’, he added.”
The fight for the Donbas has been raging since 2014, and now, in the third year of the war in Ukraine, the Kremlin is nearer than ever in its quest to add this region to its territory, even if some of the most important cities are still to be conquered.
Lately, significant progress has been made in the direction of Pokrovsk, a vital logistics hub for Ukraine, and the largest city to be raided since Bakhmut.
Hellbound and Down 