“In general, the main tasks of the first phase of the operation have been completed,” Colonel-General Sergei Rudskoy, first deputy chief of the Russian General Staff, said in a briefing on Friday. “The combat potential of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has been significantly reduced, which, I emphasize again, allows us to focus the main efforts on achieving the main goal – the liberation of Donbass.”
Rudskoy’s comments come as Russia’s advances around major Ukrainian cities like Kyiv and Kharkiv appear to have stalled. Russia has also failed to establish air superiority in Ukraine and has suffered heavy personnel losses since the invasion began.
“The public and individual experts are wondering what we are doing in the area of blocked Ukrainian cities,” Rudskoy said. “These actions are carried out with the aim of causing such damage to the military infrastructure, equipment and personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the results of which not only allow us to tie down their armed forces and prevent them from strengthening their grouping in Donbass , but also will not allow them to do so until the Russian army completely liberates the territories of the DPR and LNR.
Rudskoi was referring to the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, separatist areas in eastern Ukraine that Russia had recognized on the eve of its invasion.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that the goal of what Russian officials euphemistically call a “military special operation” in Ukraine is the country’s full demilitarization. Putin said the war was going according to plan, but Russian forces had suffered heavy casualties: Rudskoi said in the same briefing that 1,351 military personnel had been killed and 3,825 injured in Ukraine. Representatives of the USA, NATO and Ukraine estimate that the Russian death toll is much higher.
“Originally, we did not plan to storm them to prevent destruction and minimize casualties among personnel and civilians,” Rudskoy said. “And although we do not rule out such a possibility, if individual groups perform and successfully solve the assigned tasks, our forces and resources will be concentrated on the main thing – the complete liberation of Donbass.”
It is unclear whether Rudskoy’s statement implies a shift in the goalposts for the Russian military, or just a change in public messages.
The Russian military has claimed it is not targeting civilians or residential areas, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.