The Russian leadership has conflicting views on the advisability of a winter offensive against Ukraine.
This was reported to the AFP agency by a high-ranking US official.
According to him, Russian President Vladimir Putin publicly called on the military leadership of the Russian Federation to present to him "short-term and medium-term" plans for the continuation of the war in Ukraine.
"I think there are conflicting things that we see. Certainly, there are some who, I think, would want to pursue offensives in Ukraine. There are others who have real questions about the capacity for Russia to actually do that," the US official said on condition of anonymity.
He said the United States would "adjust and adapt quickly" if the nature of the Russian invasion changed.
"What weʼve been doing -- what we continue to do -- is to make sure, to the best of our ability, the Ukrainians have, within their hands, the means to effectively defend themselves against Russian aggression," the official added.
In his opinion, the Russians should take into account that the Ukrainians "show no intention of slowing down" due to the weather in their desire to return their territories.
- In December, Belarusian and Russian troops conducted coordination exercises. Russia also imports military equipment to Belarus, and its mobilized soldiers undergo training there.
- The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny said that the Russians are training approximately 200,000 new soldiers and that he has no doubt that they will try to go to Kyiv a second time. The Minister of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov, and the commander of OK "South" also believe that Russia plans to launch another wave of the offensive in February 2023. The commander of the United Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Serhii Naev, also stated that the risk of an offensive by occupation troops from the territory of Belarus is gradually increasing.
- At the same time, the USA does not yet see signs of preparations for an attack on Kyiv.