Its attack on Kyiv stalled, Russia shifts goals and settles in for protracted bombardment of Ukrainian cities

As the war in Ukraine stretches into its second month, Russia appears to be pausing its unsuccessful siege of Kyiv and has shifted its strategy to one of punishing missile strikes along with a renewed effort to cut off Ukrainian forces in the eastern Donbas region.

On Friday, First Deputy Chief of the Russian General Staff Sergei Rudsko declared the “first stage of the operation” had been completed, enabling Russian forces to move on to the “main goal” of taking full control of Donetsk and Luhansk in the east.

Today, Russian missiles struck a number of cities across Ukraine that up to now had been largely untouched by the war.

‘YOU CAN'T BELIEVE ANYTHING THEY SAY’: The pullback from Kyiv was largely seen as a tacit admission that Vladimir Putin’s goal of capturing Kyiv and deposing President Volodymyr Zelensky had failed, or at least stalled. And the declaration of “victory” in the north was was a face-saving propaganda ploy.

“The Russian General Staff is attempting to adjust the war’s narrative to make it appear that Russia is achieving its aims and choosing to restrict operations when in fact it is not achieving its objectives and is being forced to abandon large-scale offensive operations because of its own failures and losses as well as continuing skillful Ukrainian resistance,” said an analysis by the Institute for the Study of War.