Russia wants to occupy all of Ukraine east of the Dnieper in 2026 – Palisa

In 2025, Russia wants to completely occupy the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and create a "buffer zone" along the northern border, and in 2026, to seize all of Ukraine east of the Dnieper River, as well as cut off the country from the Black Sea. This was stated by the Deputy Head of the Presidential Office, Colonel Pavlo Palisa, during a conversation with journalists at the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, Politico reports.

According to the official, Ukrainian military intelligence data indicates that Moscow is seeking to expand its presence in the east: this involves capturing the entire territory of Donetsk and Luhansk regions in the fall before creating a "buffer zone" along the northern border by the end of 2025.

At the same time, the Russian Federation's plans for next year are even more ambitious, the military officer noted: Russian dictator Vladimir Putin seeks to occupy the entire territory of Ukraine east of the Dnieper.

Palisa said Russia also hopes to seize the southern Odessa and Mykolaiv regions, which would cut Ukraine off from the Black Sea, a vital channel for its grain exports.

"Unfortunately, they are not speaking about peace. They are preparing for war," the official said.

However, it is unclear whether Moscow will be able to achieve these goals, Politico notes: Russia is slowly advancing on the battlefield, but it is not managing to occupy large territories as at the beginning of a full-scale war.

The British think tank Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) predicts that Russia will increase the pace of its military operations during the summer offensive to increase pressure on Ukraine, but Moscow will find it difficult to maintain such intensity until 2026.

• On June 4, during a meeting with American senators, Palisa said that Russia was preparing not for peace, but for continued aggression.

• According to the military, in 2024, Russian occupation forces captured only 0.5% of Ukrainian territories, and another 0.2% since the beginning of this year. But they achieved this at the cost of 167 occupiers killed for every kilometer. The official noted that this does not look like a "quick victory".

• Also, during the visit of the Ukrainian delegation to the United States, Chief of Zelemskyy`s Office Yermak met with Trump's special representatives Kellogg and Witkoff and with Secretary of State Rubio.