https://meduza.io/en/feature/2022/05/27/we-ll-grind-them-down-in-the-end
Despite failing to capture Kyiv at the outset of the war, the Kremlin is reportedly considering a second assault on Ukraine’s capital, as Russian troops appear to be on the verge of seizing the entire Donbas region. Sources tell Meduza that advances in the east and expectations that Moscow can win a war of attrition against Kyiv and its Western allies have revived hopes in the Putin administration that a full-scale victory is possible in Ukraine before the end of the year.
Two sources close to the Kremlin and another source inside the Putin administration itself told Meduza that Russia’s leadership has “minimum” and “maximum” thresholds in Ukraine for declaring a successful and completed “special military operation.”
The bare minimum needed to declare victory is the complete capture of the Donbas region, which Russian troops have nearly accomplished already. According to recent estimates, the Ukrainian government remains in control of only five percent of the Luhansk region and less than half of the Donetsk region.
The Kremlin’s maximum goal remains the seizure of Kyiv. Moscow’s initial assault on the Ukrainian capital collapsed back in March, after which Russian troops withdrew (leaving behind evidence of numerous and shocking war crimes). From the very start of the invasion, military experts assessed Russia’s attempt to capture the city as elusive, given the insufficient military force deployed against Kyiv.
