This is Putin's impossible mission

“They have set themselves the goal of fully occupying Donetsk Oblast. Without revealing state secrets, they want to achieve this by spring 2026. That is unrealistic. Full occupation of Donetsk Oblast within that timeframe is impossible, even in theoretical calculations. In other words, they have set themselves a goal doomed to fail from the very beginning, but they will continue trying. We will see how it goes,” Budanov said.

He noted that Russian forces in the south are attempting to advance all the way to the city of Zaporizhzhia, using artillery and drones to force the Ukrainian military command to withdraw from the left bank and civilians to evacuate the city.

“This is the same tactic they used in the city of Pokrovsk. But Zaporizhzhia is somewhat different. Also, regardless of what the media are reporting about the enemy being almost at the city, that is not true. The situation there regarding our defense is much better than, unfortunately, in the east,” Budanov added.

Budanov also emphasized that Russian forces are attempting to create a buffer zone in the Sumy region, but those efforts have so far failed.