The Kremlin will try to use the possible ceasefire in Konstantinovka for its military purposes, analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Vladimir Putin proposed a new temporary ceasefire, this time for the besieged city of Konstantinovka in the Donetsk region, during a meeting with US negotiators in the Kremlin.
Putin suggested, as happened recently in the town of Olshki in the Kherson region, that hundreds of people could be evacuated as part of a humanitarian operation.
However, ISW analysts see no parallels between Konstantinovka and the situation in Oleshki.
In their opinion, Moscow is pursuing other goals: a ceasefire will allow the Russian army to create conditions for building forces and strengthening its presence in the region, which is necessary for the attack on Druzhkovka. Druzhkovka is one of the most heavily fortified cities under Ukrainian control, located in the so-called "Fortress Belt," according to ISW's latest report.