Russia Signals Strategic Shift in Ukraine War, to Concentrate on “Complete Liberation” of Separatist Regions in the East
Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, March 26: As Russia on Saturday announced a potential significant shift in its Ukraine operation claiming that its first phase of military campaign was “successfully over” and would now focus on “complete liberation” of the separatist regions, the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky once again called on Russia to negotiate an end to the war but without asking his country to give up any of its territory.
Russia gave clear signals that it was scaling back its military operations and shifting focus on territory claimed by Russian-backed separatists in the east as the Ukrainian forces went on the offensive to recapture towns outside the capital Kyiv.
Russian forces have taken control of the town of Slavutych, where workers at the defunct Chernobyl nuclear plant live, the governor of Kyiv region, Oleksandr Pavlyuk, said. A fresh curfew will be imposed in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv from Saturday evening until Monday morning, mayor Vitali Klitschko announced. The situation in the besieged city of Mariupol remained critical, with street fighting taking place in its centre, the city’s mayor said. Mariupol mayor said he had spoken to France’s ambassador to Ukraine about options for evacuating civilians after French President Emmanuel Macron said he would propose to Russia a plan to help people leave.
In a major setback to Russia, the Ukrainian troops were able to regain control of parts of the port city of Kherson, according to the US. “Kherson is contested territory again,” a senior US defence official said.
The Russian Defence Ministry claimed that the first phase of its operation was close to completion and it would now be focussing on the Donbas area bordering Russia. “The combat potential of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has been considerably reduced, which … makes it possible to focus our core efforts on achieving the main goal, the liberation of Donbas,” Sergei Rudskoi, head of the Russian General Staff’s Main Operational Directorate, said.
Zelensky once again called on Russia to negotiate an end to the war, but stressed that Ukraine was not willing to give up any of its territory for the sake of peace apparently hinting his disagreement on the Russia aiming for “complete liberation” of the separatist territories. Zelensky also called on energy-producing countries to increase output so that Russia cannot use its oil and gas wealth to “blackmail” other nations.
The Ukraine Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said an agreement has been reached on the establishment of 10 humanitarian corridors to evacuate civilians from front-line hotspots in Ukrainian towns and cities.
In a speech he is set to deliver in Poland on Saturday, US President Joe Biden will call on the “free world” to stand together against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the White House said. Biden is also expected to meet Polish President Andrzej Duda. But Russia’s former president and deputy head of security council Dmitry Medvedev on Friday said Western sanctions were not enough to have any effect on the Moscow government. The sanctions will only consolidate the Russian society and not cause popular discontent with the authorities, Medvedev said.
US President Joe Biden met the Ukrainian foreign and defence ministers at the Marriott Hotel in central Warsaw in his first talks with top Kyiv officials since Russia’s invasion began. The war in Ukraine has killed 136 children in the 31 days since the start of the Russian invasion, Ukraine’s office of the prosecutor general said Saturday in a message on the Telegram app.
In his address to the nation, Zelensky said his country’s forces “have dealt powerful blows to the enemy,” but Russia asserted that it was now shifting its focus to East Ukraine on its own after completing the first phase of the invasion.
Putin on Friday signed into law a bill that introduced jail terms of up to 15 years for publishing “fake” information about Russia’s actions abroad. The new bill expands on a law which was passed earlier this year that allows for up to 15 years in jail for publishing false information about the Russian army.
Western officials said they are aware of seven Russian generals to have been killed in Ukraine since the war began last month and are aware of another general who was dismissed. Lt. Gen. Yakov Rezanstev, commander of Russia’s 49th Combined Arms Army in the southern military district, was killed most recently. Army Commander General Vlaislav Yershov was allegedly fired this week by the Kremlin. He was reportedly sacked because of the heavy casualties and strategic failures the Russian army is suffering. General Magomed Tushaev of the Chechen Special Forces was also reportedly killed in Ukraine.
The latest intelligence report from the UK’s Ministry of Defence has warned that Russia will likely continue to “use its heavy firepower on urban areas as it looks to limit its own already considerable losses.” In over a month of fighting, Russian troops have failed to capture and hold onto any major Ukrainian city, although a number of major centres, including Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Mariupol remain under siege.
The intelligence report said Russian forces were mainly relying on the indiscriminate use of air and artillery bombardments “in an attempt to demoralize defending forces,” rather than large-scale infantry operations inside cities. This strategy would come “at the cost of further civilian casualties,” the report added.
The United States and the European Union on Friday announced a move to further squeeze Russia economically — a partnership to reduce Europe’s reliance on Russian energy and dry up the billions of dollars the Kremlin gets from the sale of fuel.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke to Zelensky on telephone, discussing the situation in Ukraine and negotiations between Moscow and Kyiv, Erdogan’s office said late Friday. Erdogan told his counterpart that he had raised Turkey’s support for Ukrainian territorial integrity at a recent NATO summit, where he had relayed the diplomatic efforts made by Turkey in one-one-one meetings with other leaders, according to a statement from the Turkish presidency. Ankara, which has close ties with both Russia and Ukraine, has positioned itself as a neutral party, seeking to facilitate negotiations between the warring sides.
Zelensky made a surprise video appearance at Qatar’s Doha Forum on Saturday and criticized Russia’s ongoing war on his nation. He called on the United Nations and world powers to come to his aid. He compared Russia’s destruction of the port city of Mariupol to the Syrian and Russian destruction wrought on the city of Aleppo in the Syrian war. “They are destroying our ports,” Zelensky said. “The absence of exports from Ukraine will deal a blow to countries worldwide.” He added: “The future of Europe rests with your efforts.” He called on countries to increase their exports of energy — something particularly important as Qatar is a world leader in the export of natural gas.
Britain said on Saturday it would fund two million pounds ($2.6 million) worth of vital food supplies for areas of Ukraine which are encircled by Russian forces following a direct request from the Ukrainian government. Britain said around 25 truckloads of dried food, tinned goods and water will be transported by road and rail from warehouses in Poland and Slovakia to the most at-risk Ukrainian towns and cities. “The need on the ground in Ukraine is clear, with so many people in encircled areas trapped in basements without access to food or water,” Alice Hooper, the British Foreign Office’s Humanitarian Adviser, said in a statement.
