According to British intelligence services, Russia is probably aware that it will not achieve some of its major goals in the near future.
This is shown, for example, by the fact that the authorities in the Russian-controlled part of the Zaporizhia region declared Melitopol the capital of the region at the beginning of March, the British Ministry of Defense said in a tweet on Sunday. According to Russia, this is a temporary measure until the city of Zaporizhia is completely under control.
Zaporizhia is one of the four territories that Russian President Vladimir Putin illegally annexed in September 2022. So far, however, Russian troops have not been able to occupy the industrial city of Zaporizhia, which has a population of 700,000. “The tacit declaration of an alternative capital is likely a tacit admission within the Russian system that the armed forces will not be able to take planned major targets in the near future,” it said in London.
The British Ministry of Defense has published daily updates on the course of the war since the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, citing intelligence information. In doing so, the British government wants to both counter the Russian portrayal and keep allies in line. Moscow accuses London of a disinformation campaign.
UK Ministry of Defense Twitter thread
