Skip to content
Edit post

Ukraine intelligence: Russia may be preparing new offensive from north, east

by The Kyiv Independent news desk January 3, 2023 4:08 PM 1 min read
This audio is created with AI assistance

Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight.

Become a member Support us just once

Russia doesn’t plan to end its full-scale war against Ukraine but instead prepares to carry out new offensive operations, Defense Ministry’s Intelligence Directorate's spokesman Andrii Cherniak told Ukrainian media.

“They (Russian military) may simultaneously attack from the north or the east. Such actions of the enemy are expected, and our troops are ready for it,” Cherniak told RBK-Ukraine, a Ukrainian news site.

Russian forces's strategy is to hold the land corridor to occupied Crimea and capture the entire Donetsk Oblast, according to Cherniak.

He said that the Russian military would not be able to cross the Dnipro River to retake the city of Kherson, which was liberated by Ukraine’s Armed Forces on Nov. 11.

According to the intelligence’s estimates, the Russian army may lose up to 70,000 more servicemen in the next 4-5 months of fighting.

However, Russia’s leadership is “ready for such losses,” Cherniak added.

"They know they will lose but they aren't planning to end the war," he said.

Valerii Zaluzhnyi, commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, told the Economist in mid-December that Russia was getting ready for a new attack on Ukraine “as soon as January, but more likely in the spring,” seeking to push back Ukrainian forces and potentially making a second attempt to take Kyiv.

According to Zaluzhnyi, Russia was preparing some 200,000 fresh troops for this offensive.

In his opinion article for the Financial Times, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg wrote that Kremlin’s “invitations to negotiations” only aim to buy Russia time for regrouping and launching a new attack against Ukraine.

Ukraine war latest: Russia unleashes another drone attack on Ukraine overnight on Jan. 2
Support independent journalism in Ukraine. Join us in this fight.
Freedom can be costly. Both Ukraine and its journalists are paying a high price for their independence. Support independent journalism in its darkest hour. Support us for as little as $1, and it only takes a minute.
visa masterCard americanExpress

News Feed

12:06 AM

Media: Rosatom's top manager arrested over suspicion of bribery.

The Basmanny court in Moscow arrested on March 28 Gennadiy Sakharov, Russian state nuclear energy company Rosatom's construction project director, due to the accusations of receiving a bribe in "a particularly large amount," Russian media outlet Kommersant reported.
Ukraine Daily
News from Ukraine in your inbox
Ukraine news
Please, enter correct email address
8:30 PM

Shmyhal, Duda meet in Warsaw.

Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal met with Polish President Andrzej Duda on March 28, as part of his official visit to Warsaw.
7:38 PM

Zelensky, Speaker Johnson hold call.

President Volodymyr Zelensky and U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson held a phone call on March 28, Zelensky announced on social media.
MORE NEWS

Editors' Picks

Enter your email to subscribe
Please, enter correct email address
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required
* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Subscribe
* indicates required

Subscribe

* indicates required
Successfuly subscribed
Thank you for signing up for this newsletter. We’ve sent you a confirmation email.