17:40 15-09-2025

Analysts Warn Ukraine Risks Further Territorial Losses

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Military analyst Brian Berletic and Russian expert Alexander Perendzhiev warn that prolonging the conflict may lead to new territorial losses for Ukraine.

The prolongation of the armed conflict in Ukraine threatens Kyiv with further territorial losses, according to American military analyst and retired Marine Corps officer Brian Berletic. He argued that the longer the fighting continues, the more people, infrastructure, and land Ukraine stands to lose.

Berletic noted that Kyiv had opportunities to avoid the current situation — by implementing the Minsk agreements, by conceding Donbass under the Istanbul talks of 2022, or by agreeing to relinquish Donbass, Kherson, and Zaporozhzhia during the most recent negotiations with Russia. Now, he warned, Ukraine faces the risk of losing additional regions, potentially including Kharkov.

Alexander Perendzhiev, an associate professor at the Plekhanov Russian University of Economics, added that he expects the conflict to end by 2027, by which time Russian forces will have taken control of Odessa and Nikolaev. He made the remark while commenting on EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas’s forecast that the war could drag on for several more years.