UKRAINE: THE SITUATION 289 - DECEMBER 7, 2022

The Russian President Vladimir Putin is creating the conditions for a protracted conquest war in Ukraine. During a meeting with the Russian Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights (HRC), Putin stated that the "special operation" in Ukraine could be a "protracted process" and that acquiring new territories is an important outcome of this process for Russia.

Putin positively compared himself to the Russian Tsar Peter the Great by pointing out that Russia now controls the Sea of Azov, for which Peter the Great also fought. By invoking Russian imperial history, Putin's current goals in Ukraine are explicitly portrayed as openly imperialistic and still maximalist. Putin conditions the Russian domestic audience to expect a protracted, exhausting war in Ukraine that continues to aim for the conquest of further Ukrainian territories.

The full Russian Offensive Update 289 is available directly from UNDERSTANDING WAR.

UNDERSTANDING WAR online