Russia's plans now include a buffer zone in Vinnytsia Oblast, to be created via the direction of unrecognized Transnistria — an item that Deputy Head of Ukraine's Presidential Office Pavlo Palisa said has appeared in Russian plans for the first time, in an interview with RBC-Ukraine. Palisa laid out a sweeping list of Russian territorial ambitions stretching from the Donbas to Odesa Oblast, while stressing Russia currently lacks the forces to act on any of them.
Russia has used buffer zone rhetoric as justification for offensive pushes since 2023, with the stated goals expanding each time Moscow fails to achieve the previous set of targets. Russia has also separately sought a buffer zone in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Ukraine's defense forces have countered those efforts with sustained active defense and significant fire strikes on the occupiers.
Donbas first, southern front next
Russia's main military focus in 2026 remains the Donbas, Palisa said. Under favorable conditions, he added, Russian forces will also build up efforts on the southern direction — the Oleksandrivsk and the entire Zaporizhzhia front.
Plans for buffer zones in Kharkiv, Sumy, and Chernihiv oblasts remain on Russia's list. Moscow has also not dropped its goal of creating conditions for an attempt to seize Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, with Mykolaiv and Odesa oblasts figuring as longer-term targets, according to the official.
Palisa noted that Russia keeps changing its plans — above all, the deadlines for executing them.
Vinnytsia: a new item on Russia's list
The most significant disclosure in Palisa's interview concerns Vinnytsia Oblast. Russian plans now call for a buffer zone there, with the entry direction running through Transnistria — the Russian-backed breakaway region of Moldova that has hosted a Russian military contingent since the 1990s.
"Moreover, their plans now even include a point regarding the creation of a buffer zone in Vinnytsia Oblast from the direction of unrecognized Transnistria," Palisa said. He emphasized this is the first time plans of this nature have been recorded.
Earlier this year, Moldova drafted a plan to reintegrate Transnistria as Russia's grip on the territory weakened — its gas supply was cut, and industrial output collapsed.
No forces to match the ambition
Despite the expanded list, Palisa said Russia cannot currently execute any of it.
"Frankly, there is no need to panic here, because at this moment I don't see them having the forces to implement all these intentions," he said.
Palisa's assessment echoes his March statement, in which he said Russia had lost over 450,000 troops to occupy less than 1% of Ukraine's territory while pursuing identically sweeping goals.
