ISW: Putin Has Set A New, Unrealistic Deadline For Russian Troops In Donbas

This is already the 16th attempt.

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin continues to set unrealistic and constantly shifting deadlines for the occupiers to seize the entire Donetsk and Luhansk regions. This is reported by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in its August 29 briefing.

Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Pavlo Palisa reported on August 29 that the political leadership of the aggressor country had ordered Russian troops to reach the administrative borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions by December 31, 2026. However, the Russian military leadership considers this deadline unrealistic and is requesting an extension until March 31.

“My personal opinion is that even by March 31, this is an unrealistic scenario,” Palis noted.

As the ISW points out, since 2022, Putin has set 15 deadlines for Russian troops to capture the entire Donbas, and not a single one has been met. ISW analysts continue to assess that the Kremlin’s timelines for achieving its military objectives remain unrealistic, and the occupying forces are unlikely to be able to capture the entire Donbas by the end of 2026, if at all.

ISW also notes that Russian forces are increasingly relying on foreign recruits, building up personnel and resources to intensify their offensive on the Lyman front. On August 29, a representative of the Ukrainian brigade on the Slavyansk sector reported that the proportion of foreign recruits (mainly from Latin America, Africa, and Southeast Asia) in this sector has recently increased and reached approximately 30% of the Russian Armed Forces’ personnel.

On June 29, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Russia had once again extended the deadline it had set for its military to capture the Donbas—now to December 31, 2026. According to the president, since the start of the full-scale war, the Kremlin has already changed such deadlines about 15 times, and if Russia does not cease hostilities, this deadline will have to be postponed again.

On August 26, Zelenskyy announced that the positions of the Defense Forces in the Donetsk region will be reinforced by two reorganized units, which will be commanded by Heroes of Ukraine Denys Prokopenko and Andriy Biletsky.

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