Ukrainian government and military experts say Russian forces are planning to launch a new military offensive in the coming weeks to increase pressure on Ukraine and strengthen the Kremlin's negotiating position in ceasefire talks.
Ukrainian officials say the move could give Russian President Vladimir Putin every reason to put off discussions of ending the fighting in favor of territorial expansion, while continuing to repeat his country's arguments that Russia has no intention of engaging in meaningful dialogue to end the conflict.
Analysts and military commanders say the Kremlin is preparing for a multi-pronged offensive along the 621-mile front line as the spring fighting season approaches.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, citing intelligence data, said that Russia is preparing for new attacks in the northeast of the country – in the Sumy, Kharkiv and Zaporizhia regions.
“They are dragging out the negotiations and trying to engage the US in endless and pointless discussions about false ‘conditions’ in order to gain time and then try to seize more territory,” Mr Zelensky said on Thursday during a visit to Paris.
“Putin seeks to negotiate on territories from a stronger position.”
Russia has effectively rejected a US offer of an immediate and complete 30-day ceasefire, and the prospect of a partial ceasefire in the Black Sea has been thrown into doubt after Kremlin negotiators laid out far-reaching conditions.
Mr Putin clearly expects success on the battlefield.
“Along the entire front line, the strategic initiative belongs entirely to the Russian Armed Forces,” Putin said Thursday at a forum in the Arctic port city of Murmansk.
“Our troops, our guys continue to advance and liberate one territory after another, one settlement after another, at every stage.”
Ukrainian military commanders said Russia had stepped up attacks recently to improve its tactical position ahead of an expected larger offensive.
“They need time until May, that's all,” said Ukrainian military analyst Pavlo Narozhny, who interacts with soldiers and receives intelligence from them.
In the north, Russian and North Korean forces have all but deprived Kyiv of a major bargaining chip by recapturing much of the Kursk region of Russia, where Ukrainian troops carried out a daring invasion last year.
Fighting also intensified on the eastern front in Donetsk and Zaporozhye.
Some commanders have expressed concerns that Russia could move combat-experienced forces from Kursk to other areas in the east.
“It will be difficult. The forces from Kursk will be in high spirits from their success there,”
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
