Although the Ukrainian leadership has no intention of holding the conquered Russian territory for a long period of time, this operation could actually lead to dissatisfaction with Putin’s actions among the Russians, said Democratic Senator Mark Kelly on CBS News.

“I don’t think Ukrainians intentionally want to hold Russian territory for an extended period of time, but it certainly has set Putin back. He has always tried to portray himself as someone who will defend Russia. I think his citizens are seeing the results of what he did in Ukraine, and now they are under some threat,” the senator said.

He emphasized:

“130,000 Russians have been forced to leave their homes and I believe that at this stage of the conflict the Ukrainians have done something unpredictable that could really change the course of the conflict.”

Regarding the possibility of lifting restrictions on the use of American weapons, the senator recalled that some restrictions have already been lifted and the United States regularly reviews its views on the use of security assistance by the Ukrainians.

“I think it’s appropriate to continue to look at what their needs are. How can we make adjustments? What new weapons systems are we going to provide them with? They just received F-16s. I hope that over time the Ukrainians will learn to use this weapon system better and that we will see some positive impacts of the F-16 on the battlefield. The same goes for ATACMS, HIMARS and other weapons,” the senator explained.