News Feed

Another Ukrainian top general says Russia might attack from north

1 min read

Ukraine is preparing for another possible Russian attack from the north, Major General Andrii Kovalchuk, head of Southern Operational Command, told Sky News.

Kovalchuk said Ukraine’s forces would need more military support to be ready to combat Russians, adding that the heaviest fighting might still be ahead.

"We are considering a possible offensive from Belarus at the end of February, maybe later," Major General Kovalchuk said. "It will no longer be the case that they will simply walk in, as was the case on Feb. 24," he said.

Subscribe to the Newsletter
Belarus Weekly

Kovalchuk's comments echo other similar reports by Ukraine's military leadership.

On Dec. 15, Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi told the Economist that Russia is preparing a new attack on Ukraine “as soon as January, but more likely in the spring.” He added that Russians might again attempt to attack Kyiv. Russians failed to sack Kyiv in February-March 2022.

Russia sent 12,000 mobilized troops to Belarus as of Nov. 25, according to the Ukrainian military’s National Resistance Center.

Russia also deployed military equipment, including supersonic aircraft, to Belarus.

As Belarus continued to engage in covert mobilization, Minsk conducted "verification of the military conscripts."

The Institute for the Study of War noted on Dec. 13 that Belarus is unlikely to invade Ukraine because of the risk of renewed domestic unrest if its security system is weakened by involvement in a costly war against Ukraine.

Avatar
The Kyiv Independent news desk

We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.

Read more
News Feed

In a Russian attack on the city of Zaporizhzhia on the morning of March 21, a father and mother of two girls were killed, and 6 people injured, including two girls aged 11 and 15, Fedorov said. The girls are daughters of the parents killed in the strike, Ukraine's State Emergency Service later said.

Russian citizens Yurii Korzhavin and Lidiya Korzhavina were removed from the U.S. sanctions list on March 20, along with other individuals and entities linked to Russia. The Korzhavins were sanctioned in 2024 for their ties to the Russian transport and logistics company Elfor TL.

Video

Russia’s takeover of Crimea did not begin in 2014. In the second part of "Crimea: The War Before the War," the Kyiv Independent’s War Crimes Investigations Unit examines how Moscow moved from early pressure to direct attempts to seize Ukrainian territory.

Show More