A senior Ukrainian official warned the United States on Wednesday, June 4 that the Russian army was preparing important military advances in 2026, including Ukrainian access to the Black Sea, crucial for kyiv.
Visiting a Ukrainian delegation in Washington, colonel and deputy director of the presidential administration Pavlo Palissa presented what he described as conclusions of Ukrainian military intelligence.
“They don’t talk about peace”
Russia aims to take advantage of all the eastern regions of Donetsk and Lougansk at the end of all the eastern regions, whose Moscow annexation, Pavlo Palissa said to the press. And for the end of the year, Russia wishes to establish a border cushioning zone, he added, after an interview with US parliamentarians and officials.
“They even have projects for 2026. The project for next year is to occupy the entire part of Ukraine, which is located on the left bank of the DNIEPR River.”
The DNIEPR crosses the capital, kyiv, and is thrown into the black sea, sharing in two of the country, invaded by Russia since February 24, 2022.
Moscow also seeks to occupy the regions of southern Odessa and Mykolaïv to “reduce Ukraine access to the Black Sea,” added the senior official, without specifying the sources of these statements.
The Black Sea is a crucial area for kyiv, from an army as an economic point of view, as well as an important route for the transport of cereals to the southern countries. In March, Russia and Ukraine had agreed to stop hostilities in the Black Sea to “guarantee navigation security, eliminate the use of force and avoid the use of commercial ships for military objectives in the Black Sea.”
“Unfortunately, they (the Russians) do not talk about peace. They are preparing for war,” said Pavlo Palissa, while a second bilateral meeting under Turkish mediation on Monday has not brought the fire to a stop.
More sanctions against Russia
The head of the Presidential Administration of Ukraine, Andriï iermak, who led the delegation to Washington on Wednesday, encouraged American parliamentarians on Wednesday to impose new sanctions to “increase pressure on Russia.”
“It is necessary to create the auspicious atmosphere for what Russia comes into negotiations,” not “to give a show, but for concrete and true negotiations,” said Andriï iermak, who met the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, said Wednesday that Vladimir Putin had a “good conversation” of more than an hour, “but not a conversation that will lead to immediate peace” in Ukraine.
Donald Trump had judged last week that his Russian counterpart, with whom he is proud to have a privileged relationship, had become “completely crazy”, after the mortal Russian attacks against Ukraine.
Source: BFM TV
