Putin again sets deadline for capturing Donbas: military command does not believe in this deadline

The Russian leadership has set the army the task of completely capturing the Donetsk and Luhansk regions by December 31, 2026. At the same time, the Russian military command is asking to postpone this deadline to March 31, 2027, as it considers the task impossible to complete by the end of the year.

This was reported by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

According to Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Pavel Palisa, the Kremlin requires Russian troops to reach the administrative borders of the 2 regions by the end of 2026. At the same time, the Russian military is trying to convince the Russian leadership to postpone the deadline to March 31, 2027. ISW also assesses the current terms as unrealistic.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has set deadlines for capturing Donetsk Oblast 15 times, but has failed to meet any of them. In 2026, the deadline was already changed from March 31 to September 1, and then to December 31.

As of August 23, Russia controlled about 79.9% of Donetsk Oblast and 99.8% of Luhansk Oblast. The Ukrainian-controlled part of Donetsk Oblast includes Kostyantynivka, Sloviansk, and Kramatorsk, which are part of the “belt of fortresses.”

ISW analysts noted that Russian forces did not advance in the Slavyansk direction, as well as in the Kostyantynivka and Druzhkivka areas. At the same time, Ukrainian forces advanced in the Dorozhne area in the Dobropol direction and held or improved positions near New Donbas.

At the same time, the Russian Federation is accumulating people and equipment for a possible increase in the offensive in the Lyman direction. According to the Ukrainian military, the share of foreign mercenaries and recruits in Russian units there has increased to approximately 30%.

ISW emphasizes that the current pace of the Russian offensive does not meet the deadlines set by the Kremlin. Analysts assess the chances of Russia capturing the entire Donbas by the end of 2026 as extremely low.

It was previously reported that Russian occupation forces are advancing in the Kramatorsk district of the Donetsk region.

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