Russia's tactics lead to prolonged conflict, says US official

Speaking of a conference with journalists Monday, Sullivan said Russia is expected to focus on expanding the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, in order to give <x0cap more territory than Russian separatists have had in check since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February.

In the south, he said Russia would likely deploy its troops to continue the search of Kherson, who “would enable control of water flow” towards Crimea, which Moscow had annexed in 2014. They will also try to block Ukrainian forces from Mykolaiwi, a town on its way to Kherson that has become a key battlefield during the fighting.

While changing priorities is being seen with the withdrawal of Russian troops from parts of the country, especially from the region around the capital Kyev, he said: the new “Faza of this conflict could be an extension”.

“We should not be under the illusion that Russia will adapt its tactics, which have included and will most likely continue to include continued and unprecedented attacks on civilians”, the US official added.

He added that other regions will continue to be the limits of air and missile attacks from Russia “to cause military and economic damage - and, frankly, to cause darkness, including cities such as Kiev, Odessa, Kharkiv and Lviv. Russia still has forces ready to cross Ukraine militarily, and now Russia focuses its military power on fewer lines of attacks”, the American security connoisseur continued.

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