Putin Informed About Failure Of Attempts To Conquer Donbass By September

Russia's military might has turned out to be a phantom.

The Russian army's progress in the Donbass continues to stall, frustrating the Kremlin's plans to hold referendums on annexation, which were originally scheduled for May but then postponed until September.

Although the authorities of the seized territories have already signed voting documents and posted billboards in cities and regions, the new deadline is again above the strength of the army, which, according to Western reports, has lost 5,000 vehicles and 70-80,000 soldiers killed and wounded.

This has confused Kremlin officials, who do not know what to do, Meduza reports, citing sources close to the presidential administration.

In May and June, says one of them, the Kremlin was confident that by early autumn the entire Donetsk region would be under control, and referendums could be "easily held" on a single voting day - September 11. But in fact, the army controls only 60.2% of the DPR, and over the past month this territory has increased by a paltry 0.5%.

One option is to postpone the referendums again, this time for the winter. But that could bewilder the nuclear electorate, which supports the war. "People will realize something is not working. They might see it as weakness," the Medusa source explains.

Another way is to hold a referendum on 60% of the territory under control and annex what is there, and then add the rest when and if the army is able to cope with the task.

The situation has been reported to President Vladimir Putin. It is he who will make the final decision on the date of the referendums in the coming days, Meduza's sources say.

Political scientist Abbas Galliamov has said that the presidential administration has unambiguously shifted responsibility for the problems with the Ukrainian referendum to the army. And, strictly speaking, the administration is right, he believes: "All Russian military power has turned out to be a phantom."

The Kremlin continues to hope that, at least by December or January, Russian troops will be able to seize Donetsk region and at the same time not lose control over the already occupied territories. According to Meduza's sources, the winter vote scenario is becoming "increasingly likely".