Russia has said that it no longer seeks to alter the Ukrainian government, despite the fact that regime change was an early aim of Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
Putin ordered soldiers into Ukraine at the outset of the conflict with the intention of toppling the Ukrainian government and imposing a regime favorable to Russia.
Sky News reported that nine months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has stated that Russia does not plan for the “special operation” to overthrow the Ukrainian government.
When asked if regime change in Ukraine is one of the objectives of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, Peskov answered, “No, the president has previously addressed this.”
Peskov’s remarks represent the most recent retreat of Putin’s aspirations since the start of his campaign in Ukraine.
Moscow had intended to remove the Ukrainian government, but Russia’s defeats on the battlefield and dwindling resources in Ukraine have forced Putin to modify his goals.
Russia has said that it no longer seeks to alter the Ukrainian government, despite the fact that regime change was an early aim of Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
Monday saw Ukrainian troops firing on Russian positions in the Donetsk area along the frontline.
In the outset of the invasion, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that regime change in Ukraine was not the objective, but in July he made contradictory statements.
Lavrov stated in July that Moscow’s primary objective in Ukraine is to liberate the Ukrainian people from their “unacceptable dictatorship.”
Lavrov stated, in reference to the administration of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, “We are committed to assist the people of eastern Ukraine in emancipating themselves from this completely intolerable dictatorship.”
He said, “We will undoubtedly assist the Ukrainian people in overthrowing this anti-people and anti-historical administration.”
Putin’s retreat from his war aims came weeks after a relentless Ukrainian attack drove Russian forces from the city of Kherson, one of Kyiv’s greatest victories in the almost nine-month-long conflict.
And in a significant development on the battlefield, a Ukrainian official confirmed that Kyiv’s forces are targeting Russian positions on the Kinburn Spit, which is a gateway to the Black Sea basin and portions of the southern Kherson area that are still under Russian control.
Natalya Humenyuk, a spokesman for the Ukrainian army’s Operational Command South, stated in televised remarks that Ukrainian forces are “conducting a military action” in the region despite an information blackout surrounding the operation.
Monday’s photograph depicts the demolition of Kherson International Airport in Chornobaivka, Kherson Oblast, Ukraine.
Putin ordered soldiers into Ukraine at the outset of the conflict with the intention of toppling the Ukrainian government and imposing a regime favorable to Russia. In Kyiv are Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The Kinburn Spit is the final Russian outpost in the southern Mykolayiv area of Ukraine, due west of Kherson. Recently, Ukrainian forces freed more portions of the Kherson and Mykolaiv districts.
Moscow has utilized the Kinburn Spit as a staging area for missile and artillery attacks on Ukrainian troops in the Mykolaiv province and elsewhere along the Ukrainian-controlled Black Sea coast.
Capturing the Kinburn Spit might let Ukrainian troops advance into Russian-held areas in the Kherson region “under substantially less Russian artillery fire” than a straight crossing of the Dnieper would certainly unleash, according to a Washington think tank.
The Institute for the Study of War stated that control of the region would allow Ukraine to enhance naval operations in the Black Sea and reduce Russian attacks on Ukraine’s southern seaports.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday morning, Ukrainian officials said that Russian forces had shelled numerous Ukrainian districts overnight: eastern Donetsk, where the fighting is concentrated, northern Sumy, which borders Russia, and southern Dnipropetrovsk.
The city of Avdiivka was most damaged by the shelling in the partially seized Donetsk area, according to Donetsk regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko’s Telegram message.
The city was subjected to many nocturnal attacks and a huge artillery fire the next morning. According to the authority, no casualties were recorded.
Dmytro Zhyvytskiy, the governor of the Sumy area, reported that 86 projectiles were launched towards the region overnight. According to him, Russian soldiers hit many communities with mortar fire. There were no recorded injuries there either.
According to Governor Valentyn Reznichenko, the towns of Nikopol and Marhanets in Dnipropetrovsk came under fire throughout the night as Russian soldiers fired around 60 missiles.
There were no reported casualties, and the official did not provide any information on the magnitude of the damage.