Russian army mopping up Ukraine, seeing it as a springboard for offensive against Europe - deputy minister

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO - WEDNESDAY, 1 JUNE 2022, 11:22

The Russian army’s ruthless destruction of Ukraine's infrastructure could be indicative of Vladimir Putin's desire to use the territory as a springboard for a larger offensive against Europe.

Source: Hanna Maliar, Deputy Defence Minister, on 24/7 national joint news broadcast, on 1 June

Quote from Maliar: "There is an assumption that they are destroying civil and social infrastructure because they have no interest in it, because they have plans to use the territory of Ukraine as a springboard to move forward. Most likely, Ukraine is not the final goal, and if the entire world does not stop Putin now, he will move from Ukraine [bringing his war] to the European world."

Details: Maliar confirmed that the situation on the front is difficult now as fierce fighting continues.

So far, Russia has not been able to fulfil all its objectives as quickly as it had hoped due to a strong resistance by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The fight has become fiercer because of the unanticipated strength of Ukraine, with the Russian army dominating at the moment in terms of personnel, weapons, and military equipment. However, the Armed Forces of Ukraine continues to decommission Russian military personnel and equipment, the deputy minister said.

In Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, the Russian Federation’s primary goal is to reach the geographical borders – this is an ambition that Putin has been pursuing for the last 8 years. At the same time, there is an attempt to encircle the Ukrainian troops fighting there to gain a strong negotiating position.

Quote: "Russian troops are following a certain M.O.: for example, they are trying not to engage in street fighting (although this is already happening in Sievierodonetsk), because they are losing when it comes to street battles. Therefore, they prefer to destroy the city altogether and take over the territory alone without social infrastructure.

The second important point is that the Russians are not sparing their men or their equipment. They have already put their production facilities on high alert (factories producing weapons in the Russian Federation are working in several shifts) to replenish what they are losing here."