Fifteen times. That is how many times Russian command has postponed its own deadlines for the complete capture of Donetsk region since the start of the full-scale invasion. Each new deadline was announced as final. Each subsequent one proved the previous one was fantasy. Deputy Head of the Presidential Office Pavlo Palisa stated this, and this figure contains the whole truth about the real state of affairs on the front, despite daily reports of Russian military "advances."
Who is pushing whom
What is more interesting is not the postponement itself, but who initiates it. According to Palisa, Russia's political leadership now wants to gain full control of Donbas by the end of 2026. But it is the Russian military itself that is asking to push this deadline back to March 31, 2027 — another three months.
This inverts the usual picture of "the Kremlin orders — the army executes." Here, the general staff, which is directly responsible for the result, is telling the political leadership: we need more time than you think. For an army that is supposedly conducting a victorious offensive, this is a strange request.
The explanation is simple: price. Palisa emphasized that for every meter of advancement, the Russians pay with hundreds of killed and wounded per square kilometer. This is not a metaphor — it is the mathematics of losses that forces even loyal generals to haggle for additional months instead of reporting victories.
Drones without their own mind
The second topic of the meeting between Ukrainian command and American negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner is loitering munitions. Palisa drew attention to the fact that in this technology too, Russia has nothing of their own.
"Neither the design nor the engine are their developments. They developed nothing — they took ready-made products from those who gave it to them. And we know exactly who," Palisa noted.
In response, Ukraine is working on interceptors. Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat clarified to LIGA.net: the technology has already been developed, the issue now is in testing and scaling production. According to Zelenskyy, 67 Ukrainian companies are working on solutions for mass destruction of loitering munitions — this is no longer a search for technology, but a race for speed of mass production.
What this means for the coming months
If the figure of 15 postponed deadlines is accurate, the next one — March 31, 2027 — has every chance of becoming the sixteenth on the list of unfulfilled ones. The question is not whether Russia will meet this deadline, but whether Ukraine will manage to scale production of interceptors faster than the occupiers adapt loitering munitions to new combat conditions. Whoever brings the technology to the assembly line first will dictate the pace of this war for the next year.
