Posted on 02/02/23
| News Source: Arutz-7
Russia is planning a major offensive to coincide with the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian Defense Minister, Oleksii Reznikov. Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Reznikov noted that Russia mobilized 300 thousand conscripted soldiers last September, but said that assessments of the number of troops massed at the border indicate that up to half a million soldiers are being readied for battle.
“We do not underestimate our enemy,” Reznikov told French media. “Officially, they announced 300,000, but when we see the troops at the borders, according to our assessments it is much more.”
Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said that Russian forces were trying to make gains in order to showcase their progress by the war's first anniversay, adding that the situation in the Donetsk province was dire.
“A definite increase has been noted in the offensive operations of the occupiers on the front in the east of our country. The situation has become tougher,” Zelenskiy said in a video address.
Reznikov said the coming offensive, one which is widely predicted to be the fiercest to date in the war, would probably be concentrated in the east and the south of Ukraine.