Russian Defence Ministry held a briefing in Moscow about it's month long offensive in Ukraine. The generals at the briefing said that their campaign was on track and entering the second phase.
They hinted that the 'special military operations' ongoing in Ukraine were not intended to occupy the entire country. Russia had never intended to capture Kyiv, Kharkiv and other cities, the generals said - these are not setbacks in other words, it's all part of the plan.
The plan was to distract Ukrainian forces while Russia/ Donetsk/ Luhansk made territorial gains in the east. Firstly, the generals said Russia had always intended only to 'liberate' the Donbas, that was what it set out to do.
It had two options: fight a war in the east, but allow Kyiv to replenish its forces, or start off by knocking out Ukrainian military capacities across the country.
Western experts say that Russia did not anticipate a strong opposition by the Ukrainian forces and are now recalibrating their intentions.
By stating that they did not intend to occupy big cities like Kyiev and Kharkiv they can now retreat and dub their campaign a success. The map showed by the generals at the briefing shows their inroads made in the two eastern provinces in Donbas region which Vladimir Putin has been insisting Ukraine was indulging in oppression.
This could well be the beginning of the current war. Earlier Russia had similarly annexed Crimea where the local population had voted to remain with Russia after a bloody conflict.
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