Russia plans continued warfare until 2026, seizing more cities, BILD reports

Russian President Putin does not plan any ceasefire with Ukraine. The Kremlin intends to continue the war until 2026 and capture three more Ukrainian cities, reported military analyst Julian Röpcke of BILD, citing intelligence sources.

Russia anticipates that the West will reduce its support for Ukraine. Additionally, Putin aims to simulate peace negotiations to deceive the global community about Moscow’s “peaceful intentions.” In reality, Russia does not plan any ceasefire and is developing a new medium-term war plan in Ukraine.

The plan involves the complete capture of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts by the end of 2024, as well as advancing to the Oskil River in the Kharkiv Oblast. Subsequently, by the end of 2026, Putin intends to progress further west to the Dnipro River, capturing a significant portion of the Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kharkiv oblasts, including the cities of Kharkiv, Dnipro, and Zaporizhzhia.

“All eastern territories on the left bank of the Dnipro must be conquered within 36 months,” reported an intelligence source. “Then the river will become the new front.” On the Kherson front, the Russians plan to maintain a defensive position along the Dnipro, not advancing to the right bank of Kherson or Odesa.

Russian authorities are reportedly prepared to lose up to 100,000 soldiers in Ukraine each year, according to intelligence sources.

Russia is not abandoning its goal of destroying Ukraine as a state and is preparing for a prolonged war. To achieve this, the Kremlin may initiate total mobilization after the presidential elections in March 2024, said Oleksiy Danilov, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, in November.