The Russian president's goal is Novorossiya, which includes the Donbass region as a minimum. The battle may be over by May 9th, according to rumours.
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Russia makes a tactical shift. Kiev and Chernihiv in northern Ukraine are under "rapid retreat" by Russian troops, according to Ukrainian presidential advisor Mykhalo Podoliak, who verified this yesterday. In the eyes of the Ukrainians, the capital area has been entirely freed from Russian military control. Kiev's troops have retaken control of the utterly demolished Hostomel airport, which was the Russians' initial objective and the scene of a bloody struggle on the day of the invasion. Ukrainian army reclaimed certain cities, such as Brovary and Bucha.
As reported by CNN, the Russian president is feeling the heat, and as a result, he's come to believe that this conflict can't go on much longer. Before 9 May, the day known as "Victory Day"—the anniversary of Nazi Germany's defeat in World War II—the goal would be to end hostilities.
The indiscretion is not new, but according to a CNN source, an intercept of US information would have proven it. If Moscow wants a speedy triumph, it may go for Donbass definitively while also pressing for recognition of Crimea. Some people, though, are not so upbeat. Vladimir Putin "will organise a victory parade on May 9 regardless" of the current battlefield conditions or the fate of "the peace negotiations," a European military official said.
Three possible goals of Putin
Even before the attack begins, Russia's Putin has made it clear that his primary goal is to conquer the two Donbass rebel republics, which Moscow has already recognised as part of its territory. To further restrict access to the Sea of Azov, Putin's plans might potentially include Mariupol and the land spit that divides it from the rest of Crimea.
For this, Russia is marching from Kharkiv and Mariupol in an effort to surround the Ukrainian military in Donbass. In reality, however, Putin's goal is to take over Ukraine's entire southernmost region, known as Novorossiya, which extends from Transistria, the Moldovan independence region already under Russian military control, all the way to the easternmost part of the country, near the Russian Federation's border.
In Putin's vision, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Odessa would all be part of Novorossiya, which he first mentioned in 2014. As a result, Moscow also considers the Odessa oblast, a strip of land squeezed between the Black Sea, Romania, and Moldova, in addition to the Donbass. In the last few hours, an attack from the sky on Odessa resulted in a fuel depot being damaged. Was this a "diversionary" move or a real effort to bring the battle to the West after abandoning the North? As Zelensky declared in a speech late at night, Kiev has no doubts that Russia intends to "take both the Donbass and south of Ukraine" from Ukraine.
Russian forces are having difficulty advancing
Moscow's plan would be difficult to carry out if it were true. Military officials said that conditions on the ground are not favourable for the invading forces. Russian aircraft are remain susceptible to Kiev's short and medium-range air defence systems, despite Russia's continuous attempts to weaken Ukraine's air defence capacity," the research said. "Their attempts to gain extensive sky control have been seriously hampered by Russia's inability to destroy the air defence systems," the London Ministry of Defense explains, "which in turn has significantly affected their ability to support"