Ukraine expects another major Russian offensive this month. Defense expert Peter Wijninga of the Center for Strategic Studies in The Hague sees serious signs that the Russian military is preparing for battle. “I think something big is coming.”
According to Wijninga, there have been serious signs for several weeks that the Russians are planning something. “I think something big is coming, especially in the northwest of Luhansk province and northwest of Donetsk province, west of Bachmut.”
Serious signal
According to Wijninga, Russian troops are concentrating in those areas. He calls it a serious signal, and especially that medical troops can use it as well. ‘Something is planned, at the same time there are diversionary maneuvers around the city of Zaporizhia, there are troop concentrations around Mariupol. They could also be distractions to withdraw Ukrainian troops from Donetsk’.
Time is running out for the Ukrainians, will European and American tanks arrive in time? ‘That’s the big question. The urgency of that discussion was caused by the imminent offensive. Putin told Gerasimov that Donbas must be conquered by March. You can assume it will start this month.’
300,000 Russians
Wijninga doesn’t know if the 300,000 mobilized Russians will make any difference to the battle. «It is true that a part of the 300,000 mobilized has had months of training and is therefore better prepared than the part that went directly to the front. It is true that many fundamental problems that the Russians had have not been solved, which is not easy in wartime. It’s hard to estimate how much weight they carry, but it will be heavy.
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Source: BNR
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