Zelenski says he has seen the Russians' maps for the next two years and issues a warning. “We understand what they want”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that the Russian military has failed to achieve its goals set last year and will have difficulty making the territorial advances that Moscow hopes to achieve, reports Reuters.

Zelensky, speaking to journalists in Kiev, said that Moscow's plans to conquer all of eastern Ukraine and areas in the south remain unchanged.

He added, however, that the Russian military also hopes to advance toward the southeastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, and is also considering gains in the southern Black Sea region of Odesa.

Zelenskiy stated that Ukraine obtained maps showing Russia's plans for 2026-2027, but that these maps “have nothing to do with reality” because Moscow cannot fulfill this task.

“We understand what they want. We understand that their directions remain current – the occupation of the east of our country, especially the Donetsk and Luhansk regions,” the Kiev leader said.

“They definitely want to continue in the direction of the Zaporozhye region and the city of Dnipro. And although it is difficult for them, they are moving towards the Odesa region,” the Ukrainian president warned.

For now, he said, Ukraine “doesn't see that they (the Russians, no) have the capability to accomplish the tasks that we saw on those maps,” but the state of affairs will depend on Kiev's arms supply and Ukraine's domestic production.

Russian forces have embarked on a long, slow advance through Ukraine's Donbass – made up of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions – and Moscow's Defense Ministry said on Monday that its troops had captured three new villages.

But Ukraine's General Staff said its forces have recaptured nine settlements further south in the Zaporizhia region since late January and are continuing a counteroffensive along the southeastern front.

The issue of territories is one of the biggest obstacles in the US-mediated negotiations to reach a peace agreement. Moscow wants Ukraine to cede parts of the Donetsk region that Russian forces have not taken, and Zelensky rejects any such idea.