Russia plans buffer zone in Vinnytsia Oblast, but lacks forces

Brigadier General Pavlo Palisa, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, has revealed details of Russia’s military plans for the spring and summer, noting that the Russians are for the first time considering a buffer zone in Ukraine’s Vinnytsia Oblast, located in the central-western part of the country.

Source: Palisa in an interview with RBC-Ukraine

Quote: “Their [Russian] plans even include creating a buffer zone in Vinnytsia Oblast on the side of unrecognised Transnistria. This is the first time plans of this nature have been recorded. Honestly, there is no need to panic, because at the moment I do not see that they have the forces to carry out all these intentions.”

Details: Palisa said the Russians are constantly changing their plans, particularly deadlines for their implementation. “Certainly, their main focus this year will be on Donbas. And, if conditions are favourable for them, they will also develop and increase efforts in the south – that is, the Oleksandrivka front and the entire Zaporizhzhia front.”

Palisa added that Russian plans still include creating buffer zones in Kharkiv, Sumy and Chernihiv oblasts, creating conditions for an attempt to capture Zaporizhzhia and Kherson and, in the longer term, pursuing their “aggressive ambitions” to take over Mykolaiv and Odesa oblasts.

Background: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported, citing data from Ukrainian and British intelligence, that the current situation on the front line is the best it has been for Ukraine in the past 10 months.

Українська правда