One month has passed since Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Russia's Defense Ministry said on Friday that the first phase of what the Kremlin calls the military operation in Ukraine has been completed.

The focus now is to completely "liberate" the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine, according to the Ministry of Defense.

The Ministry of Defense claims that the Russian-backed separatists now control over 90 percent of the Luhansk region and over half of the Donetsk region, the two areas that together make up the Donbass.

"The combat capability of Ukraine's armed forces has been significantly reduced, making it possible to focus on achieving the main goal, namely the liberation of the Donbass," Russian General Sergei Rudskoy said in a statement.

Can strike at important Ukrainian units

SVT's correspondent Bert Sundström commented on the outcome in Aktuellt:

One interpretation is that Russia wants to concentrate on eastern Ukraine, in order to strengthen the occupation.

This could be a sign that Russia's forces are weakening elsewhere.

Another interpretation is that if you concentrate your air force and artillery shelling on the border line between Ukraine and Russian-controlled areas, you will strike at the most experienced and skilled units in the Ukrainian army.

If you get rid of those units, it can be easier to go to the rest of Ukraine, says Bert Sundström.

Joakim Paasikivi, lieutenant colonel and teacher of military strategy at the Swedish National Defense College, tells Dagens Nyheter that Russia's proposal could be a way to test how a withdrawal would be received by the West, and a first step to a message that Russia wants to start withdrawing from the war.

- It is a test balloon that you place to see how it is received.

For example, at the negotiating table with Zelensky and the Ukrainian delegation or with the West, Paasikivi told Dagens Nyheter.

Five basic questions about the war

  • What does Putin want?

    35 sec

  • What is the background to the war?

    1 minute

  • How did the invasion start?

    23 sec

  • Should Sweden be worried?

    30 sec

  • Why does not the outside world enter militarily?

    46 sec