Putin plans to seize Donbas, use Kherson, Zaporizhzhia as bargaining chips - Feygin

He said this on Espreso TV. 

“The Russians believe that they have the Luhansk region under full occupation control, but they need to complete and enter into some kind of negotiations with the Donetsk region more sharply. In any case, Putin wants to keep Donbas for himself, and use parts of the Zaporizhzhia and possibly Kherson regions as a bargaining chip. Crimea and Donbas are important points. The Ukrainian Armed Forces command understands why Bakhmut is being held on to: to continue to hold back Russian forces, so that Russian units suffer losses. Seven weeks is the maximum period that Bakhmut should hold out for when the Ukrainian Armed Forces begin their offensive,” Feygin said.

The oppositionist also added that it is important for the Russian command to take Donbas in order to gain a negotiating position.

“More than 50,000 Russian troops are now fighting near Bakhmut and will continue to be in the combat zone in the east. It is important for the Russian Kremlin to take the entire Donbas. That is, the Donetsk and Luhansk regions to gain a negotiating position. However, the Russians will not be able to hold these territories if Ukraine receives the amount of weapons it has requested and launches a counteroffensive. Russia's strategy is based on achieving the maximum possible result: occupying the entire Donbas and making it an object of negotiations,” Feygin emphasized.

• The UK Defense Ministry reports that Russians have taken control of almost the entire eastern part of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region, but Ukrainian forces have gained a foothold in the west of the city.

• The commander of the Eastern Military Group, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that the defense of Bakhmut is necessary to accumulate reserves and launch a spring counteroffensive, which is “just around the corner.”