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Putin recently demanded the cession of four Ukrainian regions. However, experts believe that Putin’s territorial goals in the Ukraine war will expand.
Moscow – Russia’s President called for “demilitarization and denazification” of Ukraine Wladimir Putin again and again as Targets in the war in Ukraine. The Kremlin’s self-declared war aims simultaneously as propaganda and justification for the attack, which violates international law. However, the extent to which Russia’s territorial ambitions in the Ukraine War The Kremlin has not commented on whether the measures will be sufficient. Putin calls for an end to the warthat Ukraine must cede the regions of Kherson, Zaporizhia, Donetsk and Luhansk to Russia.
Shortly afterwards, the Kremlin threatened that the territorial demands could expand as the war in Ukraine continued. Experts from the US think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) also believe that Putin’s territorial goals in the war in Ukraine could shift further. Putin is setting “no limits” to his territorial goals in Ukraine. Nicole Wolkov, Russia representative of the ISW, told Newsweek.
Russia’s goals in the Ukraine war: Putin sees regions in Ukraine as “part of Russia”
The Kremlin chief repeatedly denies Ukraine its own identity and statehood. Putin said of parts of Ukraine that they were “historically Russian territory”. According to the ISW report, Putin has repeatedly indicated that areas outside of Kherson, Zaprorishchi, Donetsk and Luhansk are also “part of Russia”.
Putin could expand his territorial goals in Ukraine as the war progresses
Volkov explained to Newsweekthat Russia’s plan to prolong the war will prompt Putin to set new territorial goals. So far in the war, Putin’s goals seem to have already shifted. According to a report by the US think tank “Council on Foreign Relations” (CFR), after the war began in February 2022, Putin suggested “that he had little interest in conquering large areas.”
Putin’s imperialism and the Kremlin chief’s view of history
His self-declared intention was to “protect” the Russian-speaking population in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. This narrative has been part of Putin’s war propaganda since the beginning of the war. Putin also indicated that Russia had no intention of occupying “Ukrainian territories”. Putin left open what that actually meant.
However, according to the CFR report, the Kremlin chief’s understanding of history includes the view that Ukraine was “the creation of the Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin and his Bolshevik comrades.” According to Putin’s idea, they gave Russia some of the “historical lands,” the report continues. Thus, Putin’s idea of ”Ukrainian territories” only includes the west of the country.
Front in the Ukraine war provides evidence of Putin’s territorial goals in Ukraine
The Russian actions in the war and the course of the front were further indications that Putin had far greater territorial ambitions. “The march on Kharkiv in the east, the attempt to build a land bridge between the Crimea and the Donbass, and the advance into Odessa all seemed like part of an ambitious plan to control all of Ukraine east of the Dnipro River,” the think tank writes.
According to the ISW report, the Kremlin has deliberately set no limits to Russia’s “aims of conquest in Ukraine”. The ISW’s Russia expert explained to Newsweek: “Putin probably believes he can use Russia’s ability to maintain the initiative during this time to gain more territory.”
According to ISW, countering Putin’s plan requires counter-offensives from Ukraine and the support of Western states. In this way, Ukraine could try to prevent Putin’s alleged plan to prolong the war to his advantage from succeeding. (pav)
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