‘Battles for the region are heating up’ as Russian forces are located in Donetsk
Speaking to the Vot Tak news outlet, he said “more and more” Russian reservists were heading towards Luhansk, after reports that Moscow had been building up tanks and personnel in the Luhansk oblast in recent months.Probably the minimum they need is 10 days to gather the reserves,” said Haidai, suggesting an offensive could happen in the second half of February.
Ukraine’s general staff has recently reported the arrival of medical reinforcements from Russia to treat wounded military personnel in the occupied Luhansk oblast, supporting assessments – including by the Institute for the Study of War – that Russian forces are preparing for a renewed offensive focused on Luhansk.
Russia is expected to rely on more advanced T-90 tanks for the coming offensive, some of which have already been moved to the Donbas region, with some analysts pointing to the appointment of Gen Valery Gerasimov as overall commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, whose background is in tank warfare. Writing in his Futura Doctrina newsletter, retired Australian general Mick Ryan, who has been a perceptive commentator on the war in Ukraine, also suggested that “the east is the most likely location for Russian attacks, although attacks in the south are also possible”.
Vladimir Putin is hungry for some battlefield success, especially securing illegally annexed territory in eastern Ukraine, to mark the anniversary of his invasion on 24 February. Russian forces made gains in the first few months of the war, though they failed to clinch their main objectives and were then driven back from large areas by a Ukrainian counteroffensive.
“We are waiting for the appointment of the heads of the ministry of internal affairs and security service of Ukraine. The personnel changes in the defence sector will not take place this week,” David Arakhamia, who is the head of Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s party, said on social media.
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