New York, USA (CNN) — Russia has revised its war strategy in Ukraine to focus on controlling Donbass and other areas of eastern Ukraine with a target date set for early May, according to several US officials familiar with the latest US intelligence assessments.
Officials say Russian President Vladimir Putin is under pressure to prove he can achieve victory, and eastern Ukraine is where he is likely to achieve that. According to a US official, information intercepted by US intelligence indicates that Putin is focusing on May 9, which is the date Victory Day” in Russia.
This assessment comes more than a month after the war, the Russian ground forces have not been able to control the areas in which they are fighting.
May 9 is a prominent holiday in the Russian calendar, the day the country celebrates the surrender of the Nazis in World War II with a massive parade of troops and weapons across Red Square in front of the Kremlin. Officials say Putin wants to celebrate some sort of victory in his war on that day.