Ukraine's military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview with Ukrainian media on Dec. 31 that Russia has missiles for two large-scale attacks on Ukraine, and each of the attacks requires up to two months of preparation. According to him, by March Russia will have "a critical" lack of missiles.

Other representatives of Ukrainian military have said that Russia was actively producing new missiles and using them immediately after they are off the production line.

Budanov also backed an earlier statement by Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov that starting Jan. 5, Russia will introduce a ban for Russian men under the age of 55 to leave the country, as it continues to mobilize men to replenish the army ranks amid battlefield losses.

The ban will allegedly include Belarus, where Russian citizens can come without border control, to make sure that Russian men don't use the ally country as a way out.

On Belarus, Budanov noted that the country doesn't have enough weapons to help out Russia amid its war losses.

Budanov also commented that the course of the war is unlikely to change from inside Russia, since “protests in Russia are unrealistic, and more than 70% of Russians support this war.”

Where is Russia’s anti-war opposition?

The Kyiv Independent