Russia declared Friday that the first phase of its military operation in Ukraine was almost finished, and would be henceforth focused completely on liberating Ukraine's eastern Donbas region, which is controlled by Russian-backed separatists, Reuters reports.
The announcement suggests Russian President Vladimir Putin's troops are "switching to more limited objectives after running into fierce Ukrainian resistance in a month of war," Reuters writes. A senior diplomatic source in Moscow characterized the strategy pivot as a "face-saving move."
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