According to multiple media outlets, a European official said that Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to seize land in eastern Ukraine as a bargaining tool.
Agence France Presse reported on Tuesday that an official told reporters in a briefing that the Kremlin has shifted its attention to capturing all of the Donbas.
The three main goals for the second phase of the war are to take control of the Kherson region, secure a land bridge to the peninsula, and capture more territory that could be used as a buffer or bargaining point.
Russia has been signaling a change in its war goals since late March. The occupation of Ukraine was not what Putin had originally said he wanted.
After weeks of heavy Ukrainian resistance, Russian General Sergei Rudskoi said on March 25 that his army's main goal for the first month of the war was to have Ukraine's armed forces reduced. Rudskoi said that the next step would be to assault the Donbas.
Military analysts have previously said that Russia would likely seize Ukrainian territories and establish a buffer zone. The chief intelligence officer of Ukraine said last month that Putin is trying to create a situation similar to that of North and South Korea.
Zelenskyy told CNN that his nation had no guarantee that Russia would not try to take Kyiv again after taking the Donbas.
The peace talks between Russia and Ukraine have largely stopped since evidence of mass killings was discovered in the suburb of Bucha. Before the massacre, Moscow and Kyiv had agreed to several diplomatic concessions that suggested they were reaching common ground, though diplomats from both sides downplayed hopes of any significant progress.
Russia has known goals for some time but now they are at the center of the war.
Mariupol, a city in the south of the country that has suffered weeks of bombardment and heavy fighting, is thought to be a chief reason for Russia's assault.
If Mariupol falls, Russian forces will be able to link up for a larger offensive. The last defenders of the city are low on supplies and have been cornered into a steelworks plant that Russian forces are trying to storm.
The European official said that they expect the complete destruction of the city and many civilian casualties.
Moscow would be able to restore the main canal that once fed water from the Dnieper River to the peninsula if it were to gain full control of Kherson. According to The Washington Post, Ukrainian forces have begun taking back some villages.
The head of the Security Service in the Kherson region was stripped of their rank by Zelenskyy, who referred to them as officers who have not decided where their homeland is.
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