Russia signaled an end to phase 2 of its military campaign, Ukraine says Russia has other secret plans.
Russia is said to have signaled the end of phase 2 of the military operation in Ukraine. Photo IT
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine believes that Russia plans to occupy Kiev in the future, create a new state entity and then annex it to the Russian Federation, according to the Ukrainian newspaper Pravda.
During a press conference at the Media Center of Ukraine on Wednesday, May 11, Deputy Director of the Operations Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksii Hromov stated: “We think that there is a possibility of Russia. will conduct successive actions to try to gain control of the territories of Odessa, Mykolaiv and part of the Zaporizhzhia regions, create a land corridor to the Transnistrian region of the Republic of Moldova, seize the territory central Ukraine, take Kiev, hold new elections for the legislative and executive branches to bring pro-Russian forces to power, create a new state entity and then annex it to Russia.
Hromov stressed that this is Russia’s political and strategic goal, but that will face resistance from Ukraine.
Earlier, the mayor of Kiev, Vitalii Klychko, stated that he did not rule out that the Russian army might once again try to capture the Ukrainian capital.
Meanwhile, Rebekah Koffler, an intelligence expert and former US Defense Intelligence officer, argued that Russia would conduct a referendum to have “legal reasons” for annexing Kherson. This signaled that they would end phase 2 of the special military operation to cut losses after having had a “victory” with the successful annexation of Kherson.
Earlier, President Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov told journalists that “Kherson residents must decide for themselves” whether they “integrate into Russian territory”, according to TASS. Mr. Peskov declined to talk about the possibility of holding a referendum but Ms. Koffler argued that Moscow would do so.
“This is the standard Russian method. In 2014, 95.5% of Crimean residents voted in favor of joining Russia,” Ms. Koffler said, believing that annexing Kherson would be enough for Russia to declare it. achieved its goals for the current phase of the special military operation in Ukraine.
The Kherson area will provide Russia with access to southern Ukraine and establish a land bridge to Crimea. By guaranteeing this access, Russia will be able to control the mouth of the Dnieper River, dividing Ukraine and providing passage the length of the country.
Realizing that he cannot win the war – as the US and NATO continue to provide weapons and real-time intelligence to Ukraine – President Putin may be considering cutting losses and ending the operation. active at this stage,” Ms. Koffler said.
“If Russia annexes Kherson to Russia or at least forms another breakaway ‘People’s Republic’ – like Donetsk and Luhansk – then he will achieve the goals of this current stage of war,” she said. Koffler added.
at Blogtuan.info – Source: danviet.vn – Read the original article here
