ISW: Russia is preparing for an imminent attack with large forces

Although Vladimir Putin has officially stated that orders for mobilization of 300,000 men were completed before Christmas, in secret there are many indications that mobilization continued unabated.

At the same time, Western intelligence predicts that a new large-scale mobilization is on the way.

Many of the forces mobilized last fall will soon be ready to be sent to war. Tens of thousands have already been sent to the front before they have received the necessary training, equipment and weapons training, but the forces that will now be deployed to the various front divisions are better trained and equipped.

The Kremlin decided to launch a major offensive

According to the American think tank Center for the Study of War (ISW ) It is more and more likely that the Kremlin leadership decided to launch a major offensive to achieve its political and military ambitions in Ukraine.

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– Western, Ukrainian and Russian sources continue to indicate that Russia is preparing for an imminent attack, and support the ISW’s assessment that an attack in the coming months is the most likely scenario, the ISW wrote in its latest report.

On Russia’s Telegram channel, military bloggers wrote that Russia has not yet deployed its greatest and best forces, and that this may be part of the explanation for the fact that the Russians have not achieved the breakthroughs and advances that were expected.

Military bloggers are waiting for a decisive attack

Bloggers point out that the current pace of the “special operation”, and the manner in which the Russian forces operate, indicate that the main forces of the expected offensive have not yet fully entered the battle, and therefore have not activated it. Items required for a critical attack.

According to Evin Yeren, a spokesman for the Southern Operations Command of Ukrainian forces, Russia is now concentrating its main efforts in eastern Donbass, where the heaviest fighting is taking place, he writes. Kyiv Independent.

Russia has also deployed significant forces in Belarus, and Ukraine has prepared defensive positions to be able to fend off a possible attack from the north.

Intelligence: Russia can muster two million men

Russia’s Defense Ministry stated on January 30 that the country’s military forces are carrying out attacks around the town of Volhildar in the central-western part of Donetsk Oblast.

Meanwhile, Russia has deployed more troops and military equipment to the Kursk Oblast, which borders Ukraine, according to Roman Starovoit, the governor of the Kursk Oblast.

In mid-January, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense announced that Russia likely plans to mobilize an army of up to two million soldiers, write Ukrainian form. The estimate is based on intelligence on mobilization, military training sites, and troop deployments.

Ukraine can muster hundreds of thousands of men

Ukraine, for its part, has not yet mobilized all its energies and has a reserve of several hundred thousand men. It is still illegal for Ukrainian men under the age of 60 to leave the country.

At the same time, Western weapons continue to flow in massively. After recent promises of several hundred tanks, it is expected that Ukraine will be able to launch an all-out spring offensive.

The question is what the balance of power will be when the two largest countries in Europe collide in new, large and bloody battles unparalleled since World War II. Hundreds of thousands may have already been killed or wounded on the battlefield.

Zelensky: – Russia has already begun

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine / AP / NTB

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky believes that Russia is only at the beginning of its new major offensive. Therefore, the West is required to increase the pace of delivery of new weapons.

– They have already begun their great revenge, says Zelensky in an address to the nation, quotes Express From Reuters.

The president has warned for some time that Russia is preparing for a new winter or spring offensive after several months of relatively stagnant fronts in both the east and south.

– We will gradually stop and destroy them

Zelensky believes that Putin wants revenge for stubborn Ukrainian resistance, and the massive support of Western arms, and that it is only a matter of time before it explodes.

– We notice every day that they are either sending more regular forces, or we see an increasing number of mercenaries from the Wagner Group, Zelensky says. During a meeting with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, he clearly expressed confidence that Russia would not succeed despite the fact that the Russians are mobilizing.

– We will gradually stop and destroy them. In order to be able later to prepare for our main counterattack. Russia wants the war to continue to deplete our forces, so we must allocate time to our weapons. Everything needs to be done faster, get shipments faster, and open up new weapons options for Ukraine, Zelensky says.

Also read: The burial site reveals the background of Wagner’s soldiers