Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, to take over the entire country and overthrow the Ukrainian government, according to a British intelligence summary on the anniversary of the start of Russian aggression, the BBC Russian Service reported.

By April, however, it became clear that this plan had failed, and Russia focused on expanding and consolidating its power in Donbass and the south. This has been a slow and extremely costly process, the British Defense Ministry noted.

In recent weeks, Russia has changed its targets once again. Now its campaign is likely aimed primarily at the degradation of the Ukrainian armed forces, rather than the capture of significant new territory. The Russian leadership probably expects Russia's population and resource advantage to eventually deplete Ukraine, the summary said.