Russia is deliberately stalling the ceasefire and dragging out the dialogue on peace in Ukraine in the hope of gaining more territory to use as leverage in future peace talks. This is stated in the report of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), reports UNN.
Details
Analysts, in particular, point out that the Russians have recently advanced northeast of Lyman, where they have a tenfold advantage in manpower.
Russian troops may use the bridgehead northeast of Lyman to capture the one percent of Luhansk region that remains under Ukrainian control and complete Russia's long-standing goal of capturing the entire Luhansk region
They recall that Russian forces have been trying to capture the last one percent of Luhansk region (about 266 square kilometers) since the end of November 2024. The occupiers first captured the entire Luhansk region on July 3, 2022, but later the Armed Forces pushed them back from the administrative border of the region during the counteroffensive of Ukraine in the fall of 2022.
Russian officials have long pointed to the capture of Donetsk and Luhansk regions as the goal of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine and have repeatedly demanded international recognition of Russia's annexation of Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions as a condition for peace, although Russian forces do not fully control any of these regions
According to analysts, the Kremlin is likely to use the second capture and retention of Luhansk region to gain leverage in ongoing ceasefire negotiations and future peace talks, which is a "key motivational factor" in the recent intensification of Russian ground activity in Ukraine.
"The Kremlin may also use the capture of Luhansk region as a significant victory for its domestic audience and to justify years of brutal personnel losses in Ukraine," ISW concludes.
Let us remind you
Ukraine expresses strong protest against the forced mobilization of Ukrainian citizens in the occupied territories into the Russian army and calls on the world to increase pressure on Russia, and the International Criminal Court to investigate this crime and bring the perpetrators to justice. This is stated in the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine of March 31 regarding the Russian "conscription" in the TOT.
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