Despite progress in negotiations between Russia and the United States and the first direct contact in three years between official delegations of Russia and Ukraine, military actions continue.
Last week, Russia adopted a number of administrative decisions (the appointment of the new Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces Andrei Mordvichev), held discussions (an extended meeting in the Kremlin) and signed a presidential decree (“On Amending the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation of November 13, 2020 No. 704 “On the Implementation of the Defense Plan of the Russian Federation for 2021-2025”), which supplement the negotiating track.
Surprisingly, these measures did not have much resonance in the public arena and no attempts were made to connect them. A logical question arises: are the extension of the defense plan, the extended meeting in the Kremlin and the appointment of the new Commander-in-Chief of the Ground Forces a chain of events? And if so, can we assume that the Russian military-political leadership really intends not only to continue military operations, but also launch an offensive deep into Ukrainian territory?
According to the Russian social sphere, the Russian military-political leadership has reviewed and approved the updated plan for the special military operation (this is how the Russians call the Ukrainian invasion, ed.), which can be conditionally called SVO 3.0. Moreover, it has already begun to prepare the forces and resources necessary for its implementation. It is important to emphasize that this was not a spontaneous decision. Before the “Defense Plan” was extended for two years, an important meeting was held in the Kremlin with all branches of government, including the commanders directly responsible for military operations. This means that all the parameters of the SVO 3.0 system have already been developed and agreed upon in advance. And that Russia is essentially ready to continue military operations for at least another two years.
But the updated plan will most likely not be implemented for now. Its time will come when it becomes clear what results the negotiations between Russia, Ukraine and the United States will bring. In addition, the Kremlin has deliberately demonstrated to the opposing side that it has a plan for SVO 3.0 and that Russia is ready to implement it, even if it will take several more years. In the past few days, Russian President Vladimir Putin has formalized the preparation of a buffer zone in the Ukrainian region of Sumy.
Graziella Giangiulio
Follow our updates on Geopolitical Gleanings - Spigolature geopolitiche: https://t.me/agc_NW and on our blog The Gleanings of AGCNEWS - Le Spigolature di AGCNEWS: https://spigolatureagcnews.blogspot.com/
