Russia fails to achieve initial goal of occupying Ukraine, now preparing to annex captured areas - intelligence

That’s according to Vadym Skibitskyi, a spokesperson for the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense, who spoke at the national telethon, Ukrinform reports.

"Russia’s strategic goal of fully occupying our territory has not been achieved. Secondly, having gathered intelligence, we clearly see that both Russia’s legislative body, government, and other agencies are actively working on issues related to possible integration of the temporarily occupied territories into the Russian Federation – politically, economically, and territorially. We’ll see how it goes closer to the fall. September 11 is the common voting day," said Skibitskyi.

However, according to the spokesperson, the measures that Russia is undertaking in Donetsk, Kherson, and Luhansk regions testify to systemic preparation for the so-called referendums.

In addition, legislative initiatives are currently being prepared in Russia, set to simplify the procedure for obtaining citizenship, in the context of the integration or accession of territories to the Russian Federation, etc.

Regarding the issue of general mobilization in Russia, Skibitskyi noted that it could be announced once Russia formally declares war on Ukraine.

"Putin doesn’t admit that he has not achieved his main goal of occupying (Ukraine - ed.) in a short period of time, so he continues the so-called ‘special military operation’ and remains unwilling to admit that this is a full-scale war – not only on the territory of Luhansk and Donetsk regions, as he claimed, but a full-scale war against the Ukrainian state, against the Ukrainian people," Skibitskyi said.