Russia moves operations from Kyiv to the east of Ukraine according to a top Russian general. Colonel-General Sergei Rudskoy said that the “first stage” is complete and they will now focus on Eastern Ukraine.
“In general, the main tasks of the first stage of the operation have been completed,” Colonel-General Sergei Rudskoy, first deputy chief of Russia’s General Staff, said in a Friday briefing. “The combat potential of the armed forces of Ukraine has been significantly reduced, allowing us, I emphasize again, to focus the main efforts on achieving the main goal — the liberation of Donbas.”
For days, the Russian advance has been halted in Kyiv and Kherson. The Ukrainian forces were able to defend the city and push back the Russian army.
“The public and individual experts are wondering what we are doing in the area of the blockaded Ukrainian cities,” Rudskoy said. “These actions are carried out with the aim of causing such damage to military infrastructure, equipment, personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the results of which allow us not only to tie down their forces and prevent them from strengthening their grouping in the Donbas but also will not allow them to do this until the Russian army completely liberates the territories of the DPR and LNR.”
The Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics are located in the eastern part of Ukraine. They have declared their independence which President Vladimir Putin backed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that the goal of what Russian officials refer to euphemistically as the “special military operation” in Ukraine is the complete demilitarization of the country. Putin has said the war is going according to plan. Rudskoy said in the same briefing that 1,351 military personnel had been killed in Ukraine and 3,825 had been wounded.