Ukraine: The Ukrainian Defence Minister Mr. Oleksii Reznikov has warned that Russia is planning a major offensive to coincide with the one-year anniversary of the war with the country on February 24.

The Defence Minister claimed that numbers at the border suggest the true size could be closer to 500,000, referring to Russia’s general mobilisation of 300,000 conscripted soldiers in September 2022.

“We do not underestimate our enemy. Officially, they announced 300,000 troops, but when we see the troops at the borders, according to our assessments, it is much more,” Mr. Reznikov commented.

The country’s President Mr. Volodymyr Zelenskiy shared that Russian forces were trying to make gains that they could show on the February anniversary of their invasion and issued a dire account of the situation in the eastern province of Donetsk.

“A definite increase has been noted in the offensive operations of the occupiers on the front in the east of our country. The situation has become tougher,” Mr. Zelenskiy added.

According to Mr. Reznikov, the offensive would probably be concentrated in two areas, including the country’s east, which has seen heavy fighting recently, and the south.

“We think that, given that [Russia] lives in symbolism, they will try to try something around February 24,” Mr. Reznikov further noted.

Earlier, Mr. Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council, warned that Russia was preparing a wave of offensives to mark the anniversary of the February 24 invasion.

Recently, Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg remarked that there were no indications that the Russian Prime Minister had stopped seizing eastern regions of Ukraine.

“That they are actively acquiring new weapons, more ammunition, ramping up their own production, but also acquiring more weapons from other authoritarian states like Iran and North Korea,” Mr. Stoltenberg added.

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