Kremlin acknowledges 'special operation' in Ukraine is delayed, prepares for long war - ISW
Russian officials have been forced to admit that their offensive in Donbas is moving more slowly than expected, and have outlined a protracted war in Ukraine.
Institute for the Study of War shared the details.
Kremlin officials acknowledge more openly that the Russian offensive in the Ukraine is moving slower than expected, and seek explanations to justify failure.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said the Russian 'operation' in Ukraine is moving slowly as the Russian troops want to give civilians the opportunity to evacuate.
ISW experts emphasized that during the war Russia killed civilians and repeatedly disrupted Ukraine's attempts to negotiate humanitarian corridors to evacuate.
"Shoigu's statement was his first acknowledgment that Russian troops were lagging behind schedule and was the first official statement on the pace of the war after Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said on May 4 that the operation is being delayed," ISW said.
The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service director Sergei Naryshkin said that the ultimate goal of the Russian offensive is the "100% destruction of Nazism, or it will raise its head in a few years and in an even more ugly way."
Naryshkin's and Shoigu's statements indicate that Russian officials are likely to create the conditions for a protracted war in Ukraine to justify slower progress than originally expected.
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