Ukrainian spy chiefs have warned that in the next week Russia will launch a “massive new attack” as fighter jets are building up and 500,000 troops preparing for the next onslaught.
Western analysts are concerned that there is a large build up of Russian aircraft creating fears of a new “aerial attack on Ukraine.”
Large amounts of bombers, fighter jets and attack helicopters are potentially preparing for a large scale “aerial attack” in the Donbas, Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin is planning the new onslaught to mark the anniversary of the war in Ukraine and spy chiefs believe there could be as much as 400 fighter jets, 300 attack helicopters and 1,800 tanks.
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Oleksiy Danilov, Ukraine’s Secretary of the National Security Council, believes that Putin could launch the new offensive on either on 23 or 24 February.
He told the My-Ukraine TV channel, “You and I started saying that they are preparing and will try to make another attempt at a massive attack on February 23-24.
“You need to be calm about this. We are ready for it.
“I think we already understand what attacks are, after receiving 115-120 rockets in one day.
“We will cope with this day as well. Yes, it will be difficult, but we will all get through.”
This comes as Putin has warned that he will “gain the world’s attention” on the first anniversary of the Ukraine war.
A US official told The Times, “Russian land forces are quite thinned out, ragged and very demoralised, so the best indication is that they will try to switch to aerial combat.”
The British Ministry of Defence said in an intelligence update, “Russian sortie rates have increased over the last week, following several weeks of quieter activity.
“Air activity is now roughly in line with the average daily rate seen since summer 2022.”
Danilov warned that Putin could be trying to persuade Belarus’ leader Alexander Lukashenko to join the war.
He said, “The country of Belarus has long been occupied by the Russian Federation. This is a proven fact.
“Lukashenko does his best not to be forced to take an active, direct part for Belarus in the war against our people.
“I think that there will be another meeting on Friday when he will be forced to change his point of view.”
Putin is also using vast amounts of convicts as “cannon fodder” to try and make some gains and the Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin is struggling to capture the eastern city of Bakhmut.
Prigozhin own strategy is an “indicator that the Kremlin seeks to exploit convicts for future human wave attacks.”
The Wagner mercenary chief said the situation on the ground is a “meat grinder” and admitted they will take Bakhmut “tomorrow because there is heavy resistance and grinding,” adding “We will not be celebrating in the near future.”
On Tuesday the British MoD said that Moscow has “not massed sufficient offensive combat power” on any one axis to “achieve a decisive effect” and Putin’s forces have been commanded to advance in “most sectors,” however they are struggling to achieve any major breakthroughs on the Ukrainian front lines.
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