Russia's plans for 2025 – seizing Donetsk and Luhansk regions and maintaining control over other occupied territories. However, the overarching goal is political control over all of Ukraine.
This was reported by Vadym Skibitsky, Deputy Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
"The plans of the Russian leadership are constantly being adjusted. As of today, the main goal set by the Russian Federation for 2025 is to capture the entire territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, carry out the tasks of Russia's so-called special military operation, and maintain control over the territories that have been seized (Kherson, Zaporizhzhia regions, and occupied Crimea)," Skibitsky noted.
At the same time, according to him, when it comes to Russia's broader goals, they have remained unchanged since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992.
"Taking control and having direct influence over our country was one of the main objectives of the Kremlin for many years. Ukraine is a powerful defense-industrial complex, an industry, a sufficient human resource of Slavic people who share a similar language and have significant historical achievements. Moreover, it is a vast territory that would allow the Russian Federation to create a so-called buffer zone on its borders with NATO countries," Skibitsky said.
