UKRAINE: THE SITUATION 63 - APRIL 22, 2022

In a briefing by the deputy Russian commander of the Central Military District on April 22, the existing Russian objectives in eastern and southern Ukraine were reaffirmed, with no new operations announced.

Deputy Commander of the Central Military District, Rustam Minnekaev, gave a speech on April 22 at the annual meeting of the Union of Defense Industries, which was misunderstood as an announcement of a new Russian campaign. Minnekaev stated that the Russian forces had begun a new phase of the war two days ago, a not surprising confirmation of the new phase of the Russian offensive, which was announced by both Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Ukrainian officials on April 19. He explained that the main goal of the Russian forces was to conquer the entire Donbass region and southern Ukraine to create a land bridge to Crimea. As the ISW has previously noted, the Russian forces aim to conquer the entire Donetsk and Luhansk areas and maintain control over the Kherson region.

The Kremlin is laying the groundwork for the establishment of proxy republics in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson oblasts to solidify Russian control over these regions and recruit Ukrainian labor.

The full Russian Offensive Update 63 is available directly from UNDERSTANDING WAR.

UNDERSTANING WAR online