Russian President Putin is planning a new large-scale offensive in Ukraine in the coming months. It can start in February or March.
Bloomberg writes about this with reference to its own sources.
According to them, the Kremlin is eager to demonstrate that its forces can regain the initiative after months of losing ground. Russia also wants Kyiv and its allies to agree to an armistice on the condition that the occupied territory be left under Russian control.
Interlocutors of the publication say that Putin is still convinced that the involvement of more troops and the readiness to accept new victims will allow Russia to win, despite the failures it has experienced so far. A new round of mobilization in Russia is possible already in the spring.
Meanwhile, Ukraineʼs allies are ramping up arms shipments, preparing for the first delivery of armored vehicles and main battle tanks that could help Ukrainian troops break through Russian defenses. They only fear that a new Russian offensive may begin before Kyiv receives the promised supplies of American and European battle tanks.
It is also noted that the brutal and exhausting attacks of the Russians in the east — near such cities as Bakhmut — exhausted the Ukrainian forces and prevented them from conducting offensive operations in other directions. In addition, after blitzkrieg attacks by Ukrainian forces in the summer and autumn, the Russian invaders have strengthened their defenses, using trenches, tank traps and mines, all of which could also slow down a potential advance of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.