Key Takeaways from the ISW:
- Russian President Vladimir Putin is reintensifying efforts to portray the current Ukrainian government as illegitimate and unable to engage in negotiations to end the war in Ukraine.
- Putin reiterated his demand for the elimination of the “root causes” of the war in Ukraine as a precondition for a peace agreement -- a reference to Russia’s initial war demands that directly contradict US, European, and Ukrainian efforts to achieve a just and sustainable resolution to the war.
- Putin is attempting to inject a new demand aligned with the Kremlin’s long-standing efforts to undermine the Ukrainian government’s legitimacy into discussions about the resolution of the war.
- The Kremlin appears to be renewing efforts to reorganize Russia’s five naval infantry brigades into divisions.
- Ukrainian forces recently advanced in Belgorod Oblast. Russian forces recently advanced in Kursk Oblast, near Toretsk and Kurakhove, and in western Zaporizhia Oblast.
- Russia plans to expand its nuclear submarine fleet.
Authors: Angelica Evans, Olivia Gibson, Davit Gasparyan, Christina Harward, Grace Mappes, and George Barros with William Runkel.
See the original here.