The Kremlin sets a new deadline for capturing Donbas, but Russian military asks to postpone the deadline - Palisa

Russia's political leadership seeks to fully capture Donetsk Oblast by the end of 2026, while Russian military asks to postpone this deadline to March 31, 2027. According to Deputy Head of the Office of the President Pavlo Palisa, Moscow has already changed deadlines 15 times regarding the withdrawal of Russian troops to the administrative borders of the region.

Palisa noted that Russian troops have been failing for years to achieve operational success in Donetsk Oblast sufficient for implementing the Kremlin's stated plans.

"Now new deadlines: Russia's political leadership aims to capture Donbas by the end of 2026, and the military asks to shift the deadline to March 31, 2027," he said.

According to Palisa, on September 7, the Ukrainian side discussed the plans of the Russian command and the reasons why previous deadlines remained unfulfilled with U.S. President's special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner.

The meeting was also attended by the Head of the Office of the President, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Chief of the Main Intelligence Directorate, and the Commander of the Air Force.

Palisa stressed that even the current advances of the Russian army are accompanied by significant losses. According to him, in some areas, for every square kilometer of captured territory, Russian troops lose hundreds of soldiers killed and wounded.

A separate topic of negotiations was Russian air attacks and the use of jet drones. Palisa stated that neither the design of such drones nor their engines are Russia's own developments. Ukraine, according to him, is already working on means to intercept the new threat.

Based on: Pavlo Palisa