On February 24, when Russian autocrat Vladimir Putin ordered his army to attack Ukraine and storm Kyiv, many military analysts were shocked to realize that Moscow didn’t want the Donbass from the start.. She wanted to capture all of Ukraine.

Putin hoped to blitzkrieg, capture the Ukrainian capital and destroy the government of Vladimir Zelensky, replacing him with a vassal who would do whatever the Kremlin wanted.. Military expert Albert Stachel told Focus two days after the invasion began that the Russian autocrat would definitely " And Gerhard Konrad, who until recently served in the Federal Intelligence Service of Germany, was also sure that “news of Zelensky’s death from a Russian grenade or rocket will be a signal of Moscow’s ability to paralyze Ukrainian resistance”.

But Kyiv survived. The Kremlin failed to kill the Ukrainian president and liquidate his government. At the same time, the ill-prepared and once formidable Russian army surprised the world with a series of blunders that caused the entire offensive in northern Ukraine to fall apart like a house of cards.. That is why the official statement by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov that the destruction of the Zelensky government is Russia's military goal after five months of war, especially surprised everyone.

“We will definitely help the Ukrainian people to free themselves from this absolutely anti-people and anti-historical regime,” Lavrov said during a visit to Cairo..

Military experts doubt that Russia is capable of such. In particular, Carlo Masala, professor of international politics at the Munich University of the Bundeswehr, noted that from a military point of view, Russia cannot capture Kyiv in the proclaimed “three days”. Putin was unable to achieve this at the end of February, and it is all the more too tough for him now.. To attack Kyiv, he will have to withdraw troops from the Donbass. And this will mean that the Ukrainian army "

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Masala is sure that Lavrov's words were a sinnal aimed at the West. Moscow wants to convince Europe and the United States to “put pressure on Zelensky” to force him to sit down at the negotiating table. German expert explained: Putin knows well that the West is not interested in a long war in Ukraine. That is why he is tightening his threats to put pressure on the EU, NATO and the US. It seems that such threats undermine any peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow.. But Masala is convinced that behind them lies Putin's desire to make sure that Zelensky does not even think about trying to liberate Donbass and in general 20% of Ukrainian territory, which are now under Russian occupation..

To do this, Putin is trying to play on the fear of Western Europeans that a cold winter will begin, and gas prices will be exorbitant.. German Economy Minister Robert Habeck has been preparing German citizens for various scenarios for several days. According to Masala, Moscow expects that if the worst of Khabek's options comes true, then very soon the Germans will say: "

If negotiations begin between Ukraine and Russia, the issue of regime change in Kyiv will not be discussed, military expert is sure. Moscow wants to consolidate military gains so that the Ukrainian side abandons attempts to liberate its regions. And for this she needs " Masala believes that the only real scenario in which Russia could potentially capture Kyiv and eliminate Zelensky is the announcement of a full-scale mobilization. But such an attempt would cost Russia dearly and take the war to a new, even more dangerous level..