Military expert Oleg Starikov explained what Vladimir Putin is counting on by demanding the withdrawal of Ukrainian troops from Donbas.

He spoke about this on his channel.
“Dmitry Peskov, the mouthpiece of the Kremlin—what did he say? That they are giving two months: withdraw your troops. This is already the political component. The military component cannot be resolved by military means. Occupying the territories of the Donetsk region and a certain percentage of the Luhansk region by military means is currently problematic, and I would even say impossible without enormous losses,” claims Oleg Starikov.

According to the expert, the Kremlin initially relied on a military component, but by 2026 the nature of combat operations has completely changed: it is impossible to pass kill zones without heavy medical and irreversible losses or “meat assaults.” Nevertheless, he emphasizes, such a high cost does not mean that Russians will not try to seize Donbas by force—preparations for a spring–summer campaign are underway.

“What does Russia need? It has declared political goals—these are the administrative borders—and has enshrined them in the Constitution. If this is not achieved, the people will ask questions. Grandmothers sitting on benches in Kostroma and Bryansk will ask: ‘Why did we fight? Why did we suffer so many losses?’ This is the political component,” explains Oleg Starikov.


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