The US is worried about Russia establishing a land corridor to the breakaway Moldova region

“We think the President Vladimir Putin is preparing for a protracted conflict and his goals are not limited to the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said during a congressional hearing today.

According to Haines, developments next month will be very important, as Russian forces attempt to attack in the Donbass. However, the intelligence official said that even if Russia succeeds with its goal in the Donbass, the fighting will not end.

“In the near future, Putin will want to control the two regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in eastern Ukraine, the city of Kherson in the south and potentially create a land corridor through southern Ukraine, to Transnistria“, said Ms. Haines. Transnistria is a breakaway region in Moldova, where Russia is deploying a permanent peacekeeping force.

But US intelligence believes that to connect with Transnistria, Putin will need to issue a general mobilization order to mobilize more forces, which he has so far not done.

The US intelligence director also commented on the conflict in Ukraine could become “more unpredictable and escalatory” in the coming months, as the military capabilities of Russian forces find it difficult to meet their stated goals.

“We assess this situation will prompt a more important stage of decision-making for Russia, both in terms of the domestic adjustments needed to sustain the operation, as well as conflicts with Ukraine and the West,” she said. speak.

However, the US intelligence community does not believe Putin will use nuclear weapons unless it feels there is an existential threat to Russia. At the same time, they also said that the future of negotiations between the two countries is very uncertain.

“As both Russia and Ukraine believe they can continue to make progress militarily, we don’t see a viable negotiating path forward, at least in the short term,” Haines said. .

Transnistria is a narrow land between the Dniester River and the Moldova – Ukraine border, with a population of more than 500,000. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the region demanded secession from Moldova, sparking a military conflict in March 1992 and ending with a ceasefire in July 1992.

Transnistria’s secessionist government is recognized by only three other self-secession regions: Abkhazia, Artsakh and South Ossetia. The Russian military has deployed no more than 1,500 peacekeepers in the area since 1993.

In mid-April, General Rustam Minnekaev, acting commander of the Central Military District of Russia, announced that the second phase of the special military operation in Ukraine still has goals. clear the way to the breakaway Transnistria region in Moldova, where he says “the Russian-speaking community is being oppressed”.

Thanh Tam (According to AFP, CNN)