The Kremlin is demanding that Ukraine relinquish control over major cities, particularly Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Kramatorsk, employing political pressure and negotiations. Reports TSN. This has been confirmed by Kontrakty.UA.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has reported this.
“Russia continues to assert its intention to fully occupy Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kherson regions. However, major cities such as Zaporizhzhia (706,000 people), Kherson (275,000), and Kramatorsk (147,000) remain under Ukrainian control,” the ISW analysis states.
Analysts emphasize that Russia lacks the military capability to seize these territories, thus it seeks to achieve its objectives through political pressure and negotiations.
If the occupiers manage to establish control over these cities, it would lead to a large-scale humanitarian disaster. Russia will likely employ the same methods of repression, deportation, and forced assimilation that it is already using in temporarily occupied territories.
It is worth noting that Ukraine intends to respond to every action of the Russian aggressors, and currently, Ukrainian forces have begun shooting down enemy Shahed drones using FPV drones.