May 9th.

[brush]

1. Looks like they're moving east to solidify the Dunbas region so as to be...

able to declared a victory by May 9, national holiday commemorating the defeat of the nazis in WWll. Of course the Russians would love to conquer Odesa in the south and west, Ukraine's major port, but that's probably a land bridge too far, so to speak, as there's quite a bit of defended Ukrainian territory between Dunbas and Odesa.

I doubt the Ukrainians and NATO as well would stand for Russia completing that landbridge from the east to Odesa as that would landlock Ukraine and shut off their exports of grain and other products that help feed many other nations.