Russian troops maintain their intentions regarding the further occupation of Ukrainian territories, including major regional centers such as Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Odesa. This was stated by the Deputy Head of the President’s Office, Pavlo Palisa, in an interview, commenting on the possibility of Russia ending its war against Ukraine.
This is reported by Kyiv24
Russia’s plans remain unchanged
“I see ambitious plans from Moscow. They have not abandoned their goal of capturing Donetsk. They still plan to create a buffer zone in the territories of Kharkiv and Sumy regions. They aim to advance as much as possible in Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions and create conditions under which they can claim the capture of Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Odesa. As of now, I do not see any objective opportunities for the Russians to implement these plans in the next six months,” said the brigadier general.
According to Palisa, throughout 2025, Russian forces managed to occupy less than one percent of Ukrainian territory, while losing over 450,000 of their military personnel. He noted that to capture another 6,000 square kilometers currently controlled by Ukraine in the Donetsk region, Russian military may need about a year and a half and resources equivalent to the current grouping of the Russian Armed Forces on Ukrainian territory.
Palisa emphasized that it will be extremely difficult for the Russians to realize these ambitions, and the process will take much longer than they expect.
The situation at the front and expert assessments
According to the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), since the end of January, there have been no signs of Ukrainian troops in Pokrovsk, Donetsk region. This may indicate that the city is fully controlled by Russian forces. At the same time, ISW notes that Russia has been unable to leverage the capture of Pokrovsk for further significant operational gains. This proves that the complete capture of the Donetsk region is not inevitable or guaranteed for Russia.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has not yet confirmed the loss of Pokrovsk and the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from the city.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that their troops fully captured Pokrovsk in early December 2025, emphasizing the importance of this step for achieving Russia’s strategic goals at the front.
According to military experts, a new large-scale offensive by the Russian army is possible this spring-summer, with the main targets potentially being the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration or the Orikhiv-Zaporizhzhia direction. Analyst of the Information Resistance group, Kostyantyn Mashovets, believes that such an offensive could become Russia’s “swan song,” as its resources for continuing large-scale combat operations are limited, and the economic situation within the country is deteriorating.
At the end of winter, Ukrainian defense forces adjusted the enemy’s plans: at the junction of Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhzhia regions, the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched a counteroffensive, pushing Russian troops away from Pokrovsk and Orikhiv from the east. Reports from Russian social media indicate that the Ukrainian army’s offensive actions in these directions are ongoing.
On February 23, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, reported that since the end of January, Ukrainian airborne assault troops and adjacent units have regained control over more than 400 square kilometers of territory and eight settlements in the Oleksandrivka direction.