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The Russian defence ministry on Friday announced that the first phase of its military operation against Ukraine was mostly complete, and that it would focus on completely &ldquo;liberating&rdquo; eastern Ukraine&rsquo;s Donbas region. This appears to be an indication of a change in strategy and a possible scaling down of the operation in Ukraine.</p>
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&ldquo;The main objectives of the first stage of the operation have generally been accomplished,&rdquo; said Sergei Rudskoi, head of the Russian General Staff&rsquo;s Main Operational Directorate.</p>
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&ldquo;The combat potential of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has been considerably reduced, which &hellip; makes it possible to focus our core efforts on achieving the main goal, the liberation of Donbas.&rdquo;</p>
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The defence ministry said Russian-backed separatists now controlled 93 per cent of Ukraine&rsquo;s Luhansk region and 54 per cent of the Donetsk region &ndash; the two areas that jointly make up the Donbas.</p>
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Rudskoi said Russian forces had &ldquo;practically&rdquo; destroyed Ukraine&rsquo;s air force and anti-aircraft defences, as well as the navy. a &ldquo;special operation&rdquo; to weaken its southern neighbour&rsquo;s military capabilities and root out people it called dangerous nationalists.</p>
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He said 1,351 Russian soldiers had died in the operation and 3,825 had been injured. Russia&rsquo;s military had not given an official casualty figure since March 2, when it said 498 soldiers had been killed.</p>
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However, Ukraine has been claiming much higher casualties inflicted on the Russian forces.</p>
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At the same time Russia&rsquo;s military said that it did not rule out storming Ukrainian cities that it had blockaded and Russia would react immediately to any attempt to close the airspace over Ukraine.</p>
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Russia&rsquo;s General Staff said its military operation in Ukraine would continue until Russian forces had completed the tasks that had been set, without saying what those tasks were.</p>
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<strong>Also read:</strong>&nbsp; <a href="https://www.indianarrative.com/opinion-news/what-does-the-ukraine-conflict-mean-for-west-asia-159784.html">What does the Ukraine conflict mean for West Asia?</a></p>
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