Russian troops are regrouping and concentrating on conducting offensives in the direction of Kupiansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Novopavlivka in Donetsk Oblast, the General Staff reported.
Ukraine’s intelligence warned on Feb. 2 that Russia was redeploying additional assault groups and military equipment ahead of “a massive offensive” to capture Donbas, an industrial heartland comprising Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, by March.
The stark warning comes as Russian forces claimed to be advancing toward the embattled city of Bakhmut in the northern part of Donetsk Oblast and toward the town of Vuhledar, near the Russian-occupied Donetsk city, over the past few days.
Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov and the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces issued similar warnings on Feb. 1, each saying that Russia appeared to be preparing for a major offensive.
In an interview with French media BFMTV, Reznikov said that “we must be ready” since Russian forces may launch an offensive in either the Donbas or Ukraine’s south.
Reznikov also claimed that Russia had mobilized 500,000 troops, citing the abnormally high number of Russian troops at the borders. Reznikov’s estimate is nearly twice as many as the 300,000 claimed by the Kremlin after its fall mobilization campaign.
