Russia plans to create buffer zone in Vinnytsia region — Palisa
Russia is considering plans to establish a buffer zone in the Vinnytsia region from the side of the unrecognized Transnistria, but currently lacks the forces to implement this.
According to Ukrinform, this was stated by the Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, Pavlo Palisa, in an interview with RBC-Ukraine.
Palisa noted that the Russians constantly change their plans, especially the deadlines for their implementation.
"Undoubtedly, their main focus this year will be on Donbas. Also, under favorable conditions for them, they will expand and intensify efforts in the southern direction – the Oleksandrivka and the entire Zaporizhzhia sector," he said.
According to him, Russia's intentions include creating buffer zones in Kharkiv, Sumy, and Chernihiv regions, creating conditions for attempts to seize Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions, and in the long term – pursuing aggressive ambitions to capture Mykolaiv and Odesa regions.
"They [the Russians] have even added a point about creating a buffer zone in the Vinnytsia region from the side of the unrecognized Transnistria. This is the first time such plans have been recorded. Frankly, there is no need to panic, because at the moment I do not see that they have the forces to implement all these intentions," Palisa said.
Assessing the possibility of Russian forces capturing Donbas, he noted that in the near future they will not be able to reach the administrative borders of the Donetsk region.
"For example, if we take last year's statistics along the entire front line, it averages about 120 killed and wounded enemy troops per square kilometer of our occupied territory. In the main axis of attack, last year it was the Pokrovsk direction, they had about 160 killed and wounded per square kilometer of captured territory," he said.
He also cited statistics for the first quarter of 2026 within the Donetsk region – from parts of the Lyman direction to the Oleksandrivsk direction.
"As of now, they are sustaining 316 killed and wounded per one square kilometer of occupied territory in Donetsk region. That is, compared to last year's main attack directions and today, there is nearly a twofold increase. Their average losses along the line of contact in Donbas have nearly tripled," Palisa emphasized.
According to him, Russian statements about capturing Donbas are part of a negotiation tactic "at a moment when they themselves feel that things are not going well."
As Ukrinform previously reported, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that in March Russia suffered its highest losses of the war, with more than 35,000 troops killed and seriously wounded.
Photo: Office of the President