Skip to content
Edit post

Ukraine’s intelligence: Russia preparing for ‘long-term war’

by The Kyiv Independent news desk January 14, 2023 12:14 PM 2 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’s efforts to reorganize its defense industry and the abrupt appointment of a new commander to oversee the war in Ukraine show that Moscow is preparing for “a long-term war,” Ukraine’s intelligence said on Jan. 14.

In a Telegram post, the Defense Ministry's Intelligence Directorate reported that Russia appears to be recognizing its economy and the military-industrial complex for mass weapon production and is preparing a possible introduction of martial law in the future.

While Moscow began what it calls “a partial mobilization” in September, it has not yet declared martial law in Russia.

Additionally, after facing humiliating battlefield setbacks, the Kremlin reshuffled its top military commander in a span of three months, likely meaning that Russia is preparing “for the continuation of a large-scale, long-term war,” according to Ukraine’s intelligence.

Earlier on Jan. 12, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov was to replace Sergei Surovikin as the new military commander for Russia's war against Ukraine.

The sudden reshuffle of Russia’s most senior battlefield general position reveals that Russia clearly acknowledges that “the campaign is falling short of Russia’s strategic goals,” the U.K. Defense Ministry said in its intelligence briefing released after the announcement.

Russia launches missile strike on Kyiv, infrastructure damaged


Early in the full-scale invasion, Russia appeared ready to end the war at a blitzkrieg speed, with an overly ambitious goal to capture Kyiv in a few days.

While Russian forces occupied the northern outskirts of Kyiv shortly after launching the invasion, they were forced to retreat from their captured territories in late March. Since then, Russia’s battlefield achievements remained limited, even as fierce battles raged in Ukraine’s east and south.

Ukraine has liberated about 40% of territories Russia occupied since the February invasion, Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said on Jan. 2.

Despite stalled war efforts, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in December that Russia was determined to capture four partially occupied regions in Ukraine that it claims to have illegally annexed – which include Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.

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

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.
Ukraine Daily
News from Ukraine in your inbox
Ukraine news
Please, enter correct email address
4:50 PM

Ukraine, Poland ready to conclude agreement on joint border control.

In the document published following the talks, the parties "confirmed their readiness to conclude an Agreement on providing control at joint border checkpoints and cooperation of control bodies" and, once approved by the European Commission, "to launch logistical data exchange at selected road border crossing points."
11:16 AM

Kuleba begins first trip to India.

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he was in the Indian capital New Delhi at the invitation of Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and that the two would "pay specific attention to the peace formula" in their talks.
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.