Un alto general ruso hizo algunos de los comentarios públicos más detallados hasta la fecha sobre la estrategia militar de Rusia en Ucrania, afirmando el viernes que la “primera etapa” del plan militar de Rusia ahora está completa, con su enfoque principal ahora centrado en el este de Ucrania.
"En general, las tareas principales de la primera etapa de la operación se han completado", dijo el coronel general Sergei Rudskoy, primer subjefe del Estado Mayor General de Rusia, en una sesión informativa el viernes. "El potencial de combate de las fuerzas armadas de Ucrania se ha reducido significativamente, lo que nos permite, lo enfatizo nuevamente, concentrar los esfuerzos principales en lograr el objetivo principal: la liberación de Donbas".
Los comentarios de Rudskoy se producen cuando los avances de Rusia parecen haberse estancado en las principales ciudades ucranianas como Kyiv y Kharkiv. Rusia tampoco ha logrado la superioridad aérea en Ucrania y ha sufrido grandes pérdidas de personal desde el comienzo de la invasión.
"El público y los expertos individuales se preguntan qué estamos haciendo en el área de las ciudades ucranianas bloqueadas", dijo Rudskoy. "Estas acciones se llevan a cabo con el objetivo de causar tal daño a la infraestructura militar, el equipo, el personal de las Fuerzas Armadas de Ucrania, cuyos resultados nos permiten no solo atar sus fuerzas y evitar que fortalezcan su agrupación en el Donbas , pero tampoco les permitirá hacer esto hasta que el ejército ruso libere completamente los territorios de la RPD y la LNR".
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People wait on a platform inside the railway station in Lviv on February 27. Thousands of people at Lviv's main train station attempted to board trains that would take them out of Ukraine.
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A Russian armored vehicle burns after fighting in Kharkiv on February 27. Street fighting broke out as Russian troops entered Ukraine's second-largest city, and residents were urged to stay in shelters and not travel.
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Local residents prepare Molotov cocktails in Uzhhorod, Ukraine, on February 27.
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Cars line up on the road outside Mostyska, Ukraine, as people attempt to flee to Poland on February 27.
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Ukrainian troops in Kyiv escort a prisoner February 27 who they suspected of being a Russian agent.
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Ukrainian forces patrol mostly empty streets in Kyiv on February 27. Mayor Vitali Klitschko extended a citywide curfew.
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Ukrainian service members take position at the Vasylkiv Air Base near Kyiv on February 27.
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A woman sleeps on chairs February 27 in the underground parking lot of a Kyiv hotel that has been turned into a bomb shelter.
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A damaged residential building is seen in Kyiv on February 26.
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People in Kyiv run for cover during shelling on February 26.
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An apartment building in Kyiv is seen after it was damaged by shelling on February 26. The outer walls of several apartment units appeared to be blown out entirely, with the interiors blackened and debris hanging loose.
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People in Kyiv take cover as an air-raid siren sounds February 26 near an apartment building that was damaged by shelling.
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A police vehicle patrols the streets of Kyiv on February 26.
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Ukrainian troops inspect a site following a Russian airstrike in Kyiv on February 26.
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Following a national directive to help complicate the invading Russian Army's attempts to navigate, a road worker removes signs near Pisarivka, Ukraine, on February 26.
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A man kneels in front of a Russian tank in Bakhmach, Ukraine, on February 26 as Ukrainian citizens attempted to stop the tank from moving forward. The dramatic scene was captured on video, and CNN confirmed its authenticity. The moment drew comparisons to the iconic "Tank Man" of Tiananmen Square.
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People in Kyiv board a train heading to the west of the country on February 26. Kelly Clements, the United Nations Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, told CNN that more than 120,000 people had left Ukraine while 850,000 were internally displaced.
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Ukrainian service members look for and collect unexploded shells after fighting in Kyiv on February 26.
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Smoke and flames are seen near Kyiv on February 26. Explosions were seen and heard in parts of the capital as Ukrainians battled to hold back advancing Russian troops.
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The body of a Russian soldier lies next to a Russian vehicle outside Kharkiv on February 25.
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A woman weeps in her car after crossing the border from Ukraine into Sighetu Marmatiei, Romania, on February 25.
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A Ukrainian soldier sits injured from crossfire inside Kyiv on February 25.
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A child from Ukraine sleeps in a tent at a humanitarian center in Palanca, Moldova, on February 25.
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A firefighter walks between the ruins of a downed aircraft in Kyiv on February 25.
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Newly married couple Yaryna Arieva and Sviatoslav Fursin pose for photo in Kyiv on February 25 after they joined the Territorial Defense Forces.
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Members of the Ukrainian National Guard take positions in central Kyiv on February 25.
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People walk past a residential building in Kyiv that was hit in an alleged Russian airstrike on February 25.
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The body of a school employee, who according to locals was killed in recent shelling, lies in the separatist-controlled town of Horlivka in Ukraine's Donetsk region on February 25.
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Kyiv residents take shelter in an underground parking garage on February 25.
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In this handout photo from the Ukrainian government, firefighters respond to the scene of a residential building on fire in Kyiv on February 25. Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to the Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, said the city had been hit by "cruise or ballistic missiles."
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A wounded woman stands outside a hospital after an attack on the eastern Ukrainian town of Chuhuiv, outside of Kharkiv, on February 24.
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The body of a rocket remains in an apartment after shelling on the northern outskirts of Kharkiv on February 24.
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A boy plays with his tablet in a public basement used as a bomb shelter in Kyiv on February 24.
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A man mourns after an airstrike reportedly hit an apartment complex in Chuhuiv on February 24.
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Sviatoslav Fursin, left, and Yaryna Arieva kneel during their wedding ceremony at the St. Michael's Cathedral in Kyiv on February 24. They had planned on getting married in May, but they rushed to tie the knot due to the attacks by Russian forces. "We maybe can die, and we just wanted to be together before all of that," Arieva said.
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Ukrainian service members sit atop armored vehicles driving in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region on February 24.
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People in Kyiv try to board a bus to travel west toward Poland on February 24.
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US President Joe Biden arrives in the East Room of the White House to address the Russian invasion on February 24. "Putin is the aggressor. Putin chose this war. And now he and his country will bear the consequences," Biden said, laying out a set of measures that will "impose severe cost on the Russian economy, both immediately and over time."
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Smoke rises from a military airport in Chuhuiv on February 24. Airports were also hit in Boryspil, Kharkiv, Ozerne, Kulbakino, Kramatorsk and Chornobaivka.
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People seek shelter inside a subway station in Kharkiv on February 24.
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Russian military vehicles are seen at the Chernobyl power plant near Pripyat, Ukraine, on February 24. Russian forces have seized control of the the plant, the site of the world's worst nuclear disaster, according to the agency that manages the area.
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People wait after boarding a bus to leave Kyiv on February 24.
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Ukrainian President Zelensky holds an emergency meeting in Kyiv on February 24. In a video address, Zelensky announced that he was introducing martial law. He urged people to remain calm.
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Police officers inspect the remains of a missile that landed in Kyiv on February 24.
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A staff member of a Kyiv hotel talks on the phone on February 24.
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Smoke rises from an air defense base after an apparent Russian strike in Mariupol on February 24. A CNN team in Mariupol reported hearing a barrage of artillery.
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People wait in line to buy train tickets at the central station in Kyiv on February 24.
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A long line of cars is seen exiting Kyiv on February 24. Heavy traffic appeared to be heading west, away from where explosions were heard early in the morning.
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A photo provided by the Ukrainian President's office appears to show an explosion in Kyiv early on February 24.
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People in Moscow watch a televised address by Russian President Vladimir Putin as he announces a military operation in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine on February 24. "Whoever tries to interfere with us, and even more so to create threats to our country, to our people, should know that Russia's response will be immediate and will lead you to such consequences as you have never experienced in your history," he said.
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An emergency meeting of the UN Security Council is held in New York to discuss the crisis on February 23. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop "attacking Ukraine" and to give peace a chance.
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A convoy of Russian military vehicles is seen February 23 in the Rostov region of Russia, which runs along Ukraine's eastern border.
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Ukrainian soldiers talk in a shelter at the front line near Svitlodarsk, Ukraine, on February 23.
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Smoke rises from a damaged power plant in Shchastya that Ukrainian authorities say was hit by shelling on February 22.
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A damaged house is worked on after shelling near the Ukrainian front-line city of Novoluhanske on February 22.
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Mourners gather at a church in Kyiv on February 22 for the funeral of Ukrainian Army Capt. Anton Sydorov. The Ukrainian military said he was killed by a shrapnel wound on February 19 after several rounds of artillery fire were directed at Ukrainian positions near Myronivske.
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Ukrainian soldiers pay their respects during Sydorov's funeral in Kyiv on February 22.
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A sign displays conversion rates at a currency exchange kiosk in Kyiv on February 22. Global markets tumbled the day after Putin ordered troops into parts of eastern Ukraine.
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Russian howitzers are loaded onto train cars near Taganrog, Russia, on February 22.
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People who left a separatist-held region in eastern Ukraine watch an address by Putin from their hotel room in Taganrog, Russia, on February 21. Putin blasted Kyiv's growing security ties with the West, and in lengthy remarks about the history of the USSR and the formation of the Ukrainian Socialist Soviet Republic, he appeared to cast doubt on Ukraine's right to self-determination.
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Putin signs decrees recognizing the Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic in a ceremony in Moscow on February 21. Earlier in the day, the heads of the self-proclaimed pro-Russian republics requested the Kremlin leader recognize their independence and sovereignty. Members of Putin's Security Council supported the initiative in a meeting earlier in the day.
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Protesters demanding economic sanctions against Russia stand outside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kyiv on February 21. Only a small number of protesters showed up to demonstrate.
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Activists hold a performance in front of the Russian embassy in Kyiv on February 21 in support of prisoners who were arrested in Crimea. They say the red doors are a symbol of the doors that were kicked in to search and arrest Crimean Tatars, a Muslim ethnic minority.
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Ukrainian servicemen shop in the front-line town of Avdiivka, Ukraine, on February 21.
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People lay flowers at the Motherland Monument in Kyiv on February 21.
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A local resident shows the depth of a crater from shelling in a field behind his house in the village of Tamarchuk, Ukraine, on February 20.
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Ukrainian service members are seen along the front line outside of Popasna, Ukraine, on February 20.
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People evacuated from the pro-Russian separatist regions of Ukraine are seen at a temporary shelter in Taganrog, Russia, on February 20.
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Anastasia Manha lulls her 2-month-old son Mykyta after alleged shelling by separatists forces in Novohnativka, Ukraine, on February 20.
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A Ukrainian soldier stays on position on the front line near Novohnativka on February 20.
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A couple arrives at the city council to get married in Odesa on February 20. As Ukrainian authorities reported further ceasefire violations and top Western officials warned about an impending conflict, life went on in other parts of the country.
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Ukrainian Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskiy, left, visits soldiers at a front-line position in Novoluhanske on February 19. Minutes after he left, the position came under fire. No one was injured.
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A woman rests in a car near a border checkpoint in Avilo-Uspenka, Russia, on February 19.
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A Ukrainian service member walks by a building on February 19 that was hit by mortar fire in the front-line village of Krymske, Ukraine.
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Fighter jets fly over Belarus during a joint military exercise the country held with Russia on February 19.
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Ukrainian soldiers stand guard at a military command center in Novoluhanske on February 19.
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People sit on a bus in Donetsk on February 18 after they were ordered to evacuate to Russia by pro-Russian separatists.
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The remains of a military vehicle are seen in a parking lot outside a government building following an explosion in Donetsk on February 18. Ukrainian and US officials said the vehicle explosion was a staged attack designed to stoke tensions in eastern Ukraine.
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A memorial service and candlelight vigil is held at the St. Michael's Golden-Domed Monastery in Kyiv on February 18. They honored those who died in 2014 while protesting against the government of President Viktor Yanukovych, a pro-Russian leader who later fled the country.
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A kindergarten that officials say was damaged by shelling is seen in Stanytsia Luhanska, Ukraine, on February 17. No lives were lost, but it was a stark reminder of the stakes for people living near the front lines that separate Ukrainian government forces from Russian-backed separatists.
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Children play on old Soviet tanks in front of the Motherland Monument in Kyiv on February 16.
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Ambassadors of European countries lay roses at the Wall of Remembrance in Kyiv on February 16. The wall contains the names and photographs of military members who have died since the conflict with Russian-backed separatists began in 2014.
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US troops walk on the tarmac at the Rzeszów-Jasionka Airport in southeastern Poland on February 16. US paratroopers landed in Poland as part of a deployment of several thousand sent to bolster NATO's eastern flank in response to tensions with Russia.
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A 200-meter-long Ukrainian flag is unfolded at the Olympic Stadium in Kyiv on February 16 to mark a "Day of Unity," an impromptu celebration declared by President Volodymyr Zelensky.
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Travelers wait in line to check in to their departing flights February 15 at the Boryspil International Airport outside Kyiv. US President Joe Biden urged Americans in Ukraine to leave the country, warning that "things could go crazy quickly" in the region.
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A location of Oschadbank, a state-owned bank, is seen in Kyiv on February 15. The websites of Oschadbank and PrivatBank, the country's two largest banks, were hit by cyberattacks that day, as were the websites of Ukraine's defense ministry and army, according to Ukrainian government agencies.
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A woman and child walk underneath a military monument in Senkivka, Ukraine, on February 14. It's on the outskirts of the Three Sisters border crossing between Ukraine, Russia and Belarus.
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Ukrainian service members talk at a front-line position in eastern Ukraine on February 14.
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Members of Ukraine's National Guard look out a window as they ride a bus through the capital of Kyiv on February 14.
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Las imágenes satelitales tomadas el 13 de febrero por Maxar Technologies revelaron que decenas de helicópteros habían aparecido en una base aérea previamente vacante en Crimea ocupada por Rusia.
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Los separatistas prorrusos observan el movimiento de las tropas ucranianas desde las trincheras en el área ucraniana de Donbas el 11 de febrero.
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Los miembros del servicio ucraniano desempaquetan los misiles antitanque Javelin que se entregaron a Kiev el 10 de febrero como parte de un paquete de apoyo militar estadounidense para Ucrania.
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Los miembros del servicio ucraniano caminan en un vehículo de combate blindado durante un ejercicio de entrenamiento en la región de Donetsk, en el este de Ucrania, el 10 de febrero.
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