Ukraine is showing self-confidence in the Russian war of aggression given the stalling of the offensive in Donbass. Ukraine has revised its war goals upwards and now wants to push Russian troops out of the country, provided the western allies quickly deliver the promised heavy weapons, according to Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba. “The image of victory is an evolving concept,” Kuleba told the Financial Times about the stalling of the Russian offensive in Donbass.
“If we are strong enough on the military front now and win the battle for Donbass, which will be decisive for the further dynamics of the war, then, of course, victory for us in this war will be the liberation of the remaining areas,” Kuleba said.
War in Ukraine – Voices and Developments – That’s how much the Ukrainians and Russians earn at the front
Kuleba: Ukraine can reopen ports with even more weapons
According to Kuleba, only a defeat by Russia would allow Ukraine to reopen its Black Sea ports and revive its export economy. If Kiev receives even more military support, “we will be able to push them back from the Kherson region, defeat the Black Sea Fleet and open the passage.”
However, he also acknowledged that the bloodshed could be too great and Ukraine would eventually have to negotiate a solution. In that case, Kyiv “would want to approach the inevitable moment with the best possible cards,” he said. “With both Russia and Ukraine believing they can move forward militarily, we see no viable avenue for negotiation, at least in the short term,” US intelligence coordinator Avril Haines said at a Senate hearing in Washington on Tuesday.
US intelligence: Putin is preparing for a longer war beyond Donbass
An eventual Russian success in the Donbass would probably not mean the end of Russia’s war against Ukraine, US intelligence had previously announced. Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing for a prolonged conflict in Ukraine, during which he still intends to pursue goals beyond eastern Ukraine, Haines said.
“We assume that Putin’s strategic goals probably haven’t changed,” Haines said. The relocation of the Russian armed forces to the Donbass is probably only temporary.
In the short term, Putin wants to capture the two eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, control the city of Kherson and possibly build a land bridge around the southern part of the country to Transnistria, a separatist region of Moldova where Russian troops are currently stationed, Haines said. But in order to reach Transnistria, according to the intelligence services, Putin would have to launch a full mobilization inside Russia, which he has not done so far.
