Two sources close to the #Kremlin and another source inside the #Putin administration itself told Meduza that Russia’s leadership has “minimum” and “maximum” thresholds in #Ukraine for declaring a successful and completed “special military operation.”
The bare minimum needed to declare victory is the complete capture of the #Donbas region, which Russian troops have nearly accomplished already. According to recent estimates, the Ukrainian #government remains in control of only five percent of the #Luhansk region and less than half of the #Donetsk region.
The Kremlin’s maximum goal remains the seizure of #Kyiv. Moscow’s initial assault on the Ukrainian capital collapsed back in March, after which Russian troops withdrew (leaving behind evidence of numerous and shocking war crimes). From the very start of the invasion, #military experts assessed #Russia’s attempt to capture the city as elusive, given the insufficient military force deployed against Kyiv.

https://meduza.io/en/feature/2022/05/27/we-ll-grind-them-down-in-the-end #war #weapons