Russia seeks to occupy Ukraine to Dnieper and capture Odesa - President’s Office

The Kremlin has large-scale plans for further aggression against Ukraine, which include the seizure of territories in the east and south of the country. This was stated by Deputy Head of the Office of the President Pavlo Palisa, referring to Ukrainian intelligence data, Politico reports.

According to Palisa, by the end of 2025, russia intends to completely capture the Donetsk and Luhansk Regions and create a so-called "buffer zone" along Ukraine's northern border with the russian federation. In 2026, the plans are even broader: Moscow wants to advance to the Dnieper line, effectively occupying the eastern part of the country.

In addition, russia plans to capture Odesa and Mykolaiv, which would mean completely cutting off Ukraine from the Black Sea.

"Unfortunately, they are not talking about peace. They are preparing for war," Palisa said during a briefing on June 5 for a group of US Senators. He is part of a Ukrainian delegation headed by the head of the President’s Office, Andrii Yermak, who is visiting Washington.

While the exact implementation of these plans remains in question, Western analysts believe that russia could intensify hostilities in the summer. At the same time, doubts remain about Moscow’s ability to maintain such an offensive pace until 2026.

Western intelligence also does not record signs that vladimir putin has abandoned his main goals: to tie Ukraine to the russian sphere of influence and change the European security architecture created after the Cold War.

According to George Beebe, a former director of analysis of russia at the CIA, “the russians want to make a deal. But they do not believe that this deal is made primarily between them and the Ukrainians.”

“They believe that this is a long-standing geopolitical struggle between Moscow and Washington,” he emphasized during a briefing organized by the Center for the National Interest.

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