Moscow's top military official declared persistent assaults will carry on
Russia's Chief of Staff, Valery Gerasimov, has announced a continuation of the Russian invasion in Ukraine, with new objectives for an autumn offensive. This announcement contradicts calls for a quick end to the war by former US President Donald Trump.
Gerasimov stated that Russian forces currently control approximately 99.7% of the Luhansk region, 79% of Donetsk, 76% of Kherson, and 74% of Zaporizhzhia in Ukraine. However, these control figures are not independently verifiable.
The ongoing conflict has been a source of tension between Russia and Europe. Russia has criticized European plans to send troops to Ukraine to secure a potential future peace, while Europeans accuse Russia of using a delaying tactic to gain time for new attacks by offering negotiations and setting new deadlines.
Russia has also rejected representatives from NATO countries in negotiations. Kirill Dmitriev, a Russian negotiator, has accused Europeans of prolonging the Ukraine conflict by making unrealistic demands. He claimed that opponents of Russia are trying to sabotage the peace process involving representatives of the European Union, but the specific EU representatives targeted by Russia were not named in the available information.
Dmitriev also claimed that the US is beginning to understand this and urged the EU to stop sabotaging the peace process. He accused certain parties of prolonging the conflict by making unrealistic demands, but did not specify who these parties are.
Russia has threatened to capture cities like Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, currently held by Ukraine, which are considered important defensive strongholds. However, no new information about threats to capture cities by Russia was provided in this paragraph.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected Russia's demand that Ukrainian forces withdraw completely from areas like Donetsk to achieve a ceasefire. This demand was made by Russia, but the Ukrainian President and the demand for Ukrainian forces to withdraw from certain areas were not mentioned in this paragraph.
Constant attacks are currently taking place along the entire front line in the war in Ukraine, according to Gerasimov. The Ukraine conflict has been ongoing for over three and a half years. Despite the ongoing violence, calls for a peaceful resolution continue, with Trump urging for a quick end to the war. However, Gerasimov's announcement of a continued Russian invasion suggests that a swift resolution may not be imminent.
