Ukraine is preparing for a major Russian offensive. Oleksey Danilov, one of the most important advisers to President Volodymyr Zelensky, said this in an interview with Sky news. According to him, we are facing difficult and crucial months.
It could go fast, Danilov thinks. “Russia is preparing for maximum escalation,” he says Sky news. “It is collecting all the equipment and rolling out military exercises and training.” Moreover, it is not inconceivable that Vladimir Putin will approach that offensive as he did on February 24, 2022, with an attack from the north, south and east. “We know that everything is still on the table. I can say that we are not ruling out any scenario in the next two to three weeks.”
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According to Danilov, about half of the mobilized 320,000 Russians would be deployed in that Russian offensive. The first half of them are already in Ukraine to take the place of fallen soldiers.
Bloody months
The necessary preparations are therefore currently being made in Ukraine. The fact that the country now has much more support from Western allies than a year ago gives Danilov confidence. “Those countries support and help us as much as possible.”
But even with that support, it threatens to be very bloody months, the adviser says. “We have already gone through a very difficult period, but I am aware that the most important battles are still to come. They will happen this year, within two or three months. Those will be defining moments in the war.”
Fighter aircraft
That immediately explains why the Ukrainians have pleaded so much for extra deliveries of heavier weaponry from the West. Although the country would like to get some more fighter jets, Danilov emphasizes. Because Ukraine also has plans of its own. “We have that and it is clear to us what we have to do,” he says. “The US, UK and other allies know what those plans are. But they must remain secret.”
The ultimate goal remains to recapture all territory from the Russian army. Crimea included. “We are going to win this anyway, especially with the support of the whole world.”
Conquer terrain
It is remarkable that today Kirilo Budanov (37), the head of the Ukrainian military intelligence service, The Washington Post says very different things. He says it is “unlikely” that Russia will attack through the North. “That would be nothing more than an attempt to distract and divide our soldiers in Kiev.” What then is about to happen? According to Budanov, Russia will focus on occupying more territory in eastern Ukraine, in particular the regions of Luhansk and Donetsk.