Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Wednesday that Russian forces are slowing the overall pace of their offensive operations in Ukraine, while confirming that Russia’s goals in this war have not changed, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its latest assessment. .

At a meeting with defense ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member countries, Shoigu said that Russian forces would slow down offensive operations in Ukraine, claiming that this decision was aimed at minimizing civilian casualties.

Shoigu also said that operations in Ukraine are going according to plan and that Russian forces will achieve all their goals, meaning that the very ambitious strategic goals of Russia’s war in Ukraine have not changed.

Shoigu’s statement may also mean an attempt by the Russian Defense Ministry to explain and justify the minor achievements of Russian forces in Ukraine over the past six weeks.

They gained an area the size of Andorra after losing an area the size of Denmark

As Russian forces resumed operations on July 16 after an operational hiatus, they gained approximately 450.84 km2 of new territory, an area roughly the size of Andorra.

However, since March 21 (the approximate date of the largest advance of Russian troops into Ukraine), Russian troops have lost approximately 45,000 km2 of territory, which is larger than the territory of Denmark.

ISW notes that, as other assessments have noted, Russian forces are failing to translate limited tactical gains into broader operational successes, and their offensive operations in eastern Ukraine have already reached their maximum potential.

Shoigu’s statement is probably an attempt to explain these failures.

The main conclusions of the Institute for the Study of War:

• Russian forces have lost more territory than Denmark since the height of their invasion of Ukraine in mid-March, and have gained territory the size of Andorra (percentage of what they lost) in the past 39 days.
• Russian Defense Minister Serhiy Shoigu once again stated that Russia has not changed its wartime strategic goals.
• Russian forces launched limited ground attacks southwest and southeast of Izyum, northeast and south of Bakhmut, and west and southwest of the city of Donetsk.
• The invasion troops carried out a limited ground offensive in the north-west of the Kherson region.
• Ukrainian forces continued to shell Russian military assets and land lines of communication in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
• The Russian occupation authorities continue to face partisan actions and internal problems.

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