A Ukrainian military officer said Russian forces are preparing major advances lasting into next year as Moscow seeks to establish a buffer zone along the Ukraine-Russia border.
Colonel Pavlo Palisa told reporters in Washington on June 4 that Russia has set a goal of establishing the buffer zone by the end of the year and wants to seize the entirety of Donetsk and Luhansk by the end of September.
"It's interesting, but they have plans even for 2026. The plan for next year is to occupy the whole part of Ukraine which is situated on the left bank of the Dnipro River," he said after briefing US lawmakers and officials.
Another goal is to cut off Ukraine's Black Sea access, he said.
Palisa, who is deputy head of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office, was part of a Ukrainian delegation that was in Washington as Kyiv pushes for stronger pressure against Moscow. He presented what he said were findings from Ukrainian military intelligence.
During the visit US President Donald Trump said that Russian President Vladimir Putinwarned him by telephoneof major retaliation over a daring Ukraine drone strike deep into Russia.
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Russian drone attacks continued to take a toll on Ukrainian cities amid the diplomatic efforts. A Ukrainian official in the Chernihiv region said Russian strikes killed five people and wounded six others in the northern city of Pryluky.
The dead include two women and a 1-year-old child who were found under the rubble, Vyacheslav Chaus, a Chernihiv administration official, said on Telegram. Six people were wounded and hospitalized, he said.
Russian drones earlier on June 5 struck apartment buildings in the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, triggering fires and injuring 17 people, including two children, Regional Governor Oleh Synyehubov said.
Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov said seven apartment buildings had been damaged in the strikes, which occurred around 1 a.m. local time. One drone hit an apartment building on the 17th floor, another on the second floor, Terekhov said on Telegram.
