Will Putin declare end of war by May 9? Expert explains

According to Romanenko, one of the signs indicating such a move is the potential participation of Chinese leader Xi Jinping in the Moscow Victory Day parade.

“They can’t allow a situation where they declare the end of the 'special military operation' while active fighting still continues. Also, the Americans have set a deadline of April 20. The Russians were skeptical of that, but the May 9 scenario remains far more likely,” he said.

Romanenko noted that if circumstances change, Russian authorities can easily twist the narrative to fit their needs.

In his view, Russia may try to present control over parts of the four occupied Ukrainian regions as an achievement that allows them to move from active hostilities to the so-called humanitarian or diplomatic phase.

At the same time, Romanenko warned, Russia may try to claim new territories, such as Sumy or even the Dnipropetrovsk region, if it manages to advance further.

“They're masters at this,” the expert said, commenting on the information preparation by Russian propaganda.

What are the aims of Russia’s so-called special military operation

Before launching the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered a televised address declaring the start of a "special military operation." At the time, he claimed that the Russian army would carry out the "demilitarization" and "denazification" of Ukraine.

However, it’s worth noting that none of those objectives were achieved. The Russian military failed in its initial offensive. Since then, Putin and other top Russian officials have repeatedly invented new goals to justify the ongoing war against Ukraine.

At one point, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov stated that Putin was allegedly open to achieving Russia’s objectives through means other than the military operation in Ukraine.

By late December, Putin even expressed regret that he hadn’t launched the so-called special military operation earlier.