Ukraine’s defense intelligence chief: Russia is preparing to attack in late January

Russia will likely attack Ukraine in late January-early February, Defense Intelligence Chief Kyrylo Budanov told the Military Times on Nov. 21. He said it would be far more devastating than anything Russia has done in Ukraine since its 2014 invasion.

According to Budanov, Russia will likely employ airstrikes, artillery and armor attacks, followed by airborne assaults in the east, amphibious landings in Odesa and Mariupol, and a smaller invasion through Belarus.

Foreign intelligence services have warned Ukraine that a large-scale Russian assault is likely forthcoming. According to Ukrainian Defense Ministry estimates, Russia has about 90,000 troops deployed along the Ukrainian border and in the occupied territories.

Russia's Security Council Deputy Secretary Alexander Grebenkin, meanwhile, accused Ukraine of “increasing risks of provocations” in Russian-occupied Crimea and the Black and Azov Seas.