Intelligence officials have warned that Russia might invade Ukraine by the end of January with a huge attack on ten fronts. The magnitude of Vladimir Putin's offensive is 100,000 soldiers, according to Ukrainian commander Kyrylo Budanov, the director of Kiev's defense intelligence agency.
According to The Military Times, Brigadier General Budanov revealed that the invasion would include airstrikes and artillery bombardments followed by an air raid including up to 3,500 paratroopers and special forces.
Russia may try to invade Ukraine
A massive assault over the border, amphibious landings in Odesa and Mariupol, and a lesser invasion from Belarus would then follow. Ukraine's intelligence services also developed a map-based assessment of how Russia may try to invade the country, describing attacks on at least ten fronts.
Russia, on the other hand, has always rejected any aggressive intentions against Ukraine, dismissing the most recent claims as "hysteria." According to Kiev authorities, Putin has sent 40 "battalion tactical groups" (BTGS) to the former Soviet state's border.
The Russian Army has specified particular roles for BTGs, which are formations of infantry, armor, air forces, and artillery. In this circumstance, such operations would entail a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Per The Sun, Russia also has 94,000 troops, 1,200 tanks, 1,600 pieces of artillery, 330 aircraft, 75 warships and six submarines in the region, according to the graphic. Budanov predicted that the fight would be considerably more catastrophic than anything witnessed in the previous seven years of struggle in Eastern Europe between the two countries.
Russia, he says, may be planning a strike by the end of January or the start of February. He also disputed rumors that Putin might be turned off by the cooler temperatures, stating, "It is no problem for us and the Russians."
Kiev is keeping an eye on soldiers and weaponry massing along the border, particularly short-range missile systems, according to the commander. Russia would initially try to destabilize Ukraine by stirring unrest, protests, and undermining President Volodymyr Zelensky's government, according to Budanov.
This has included continuing anti-vaxx demonstrations, which Ukraine says are orchestrated by Putin's dictatorship. He also blamed the Russians for the ongoing border issue between Belarus and Ukraine.
Moscow dismisses Western concern on Ukraine border
The Kremlin slammed US reports of a Russian force buildup near Ukraine on Monday, saying it may be a deception to hide what it called the Ukrainian leadership's aggressive intentions.
Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson, downplayed US media reports about Moscow's alleged preparations to invade Ukraine as part of a campaign to discredit Russia. He stressed that army moves on Russian soil should not be a source of concern.
Ukraine claimed earlier this month that Russia had kept tens of thousands of troops close to the two nations' borders after conducting war drills in an attempt to put further pressure on its former Soviet ally. In 2014, Russia seized Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and backed a separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine that same year.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Ukraine's foreign minister earlier this month that Russia's "playbook" was to build up forces along the border and then attack, "stating falsely that it was provoked."
In an interview with the Military Times over the weekend, Kyrylo Budanov, the chief of Ukraine's military intelligence, stated that Russia has collected 92,000 troops near Ukraine and might launch an invasion from various directions, including Belarus, in late January or early February.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said Monday that it conducted maneuvers in the northern Zhytomyr area, which borders Belarus, amid the tensions. Belarus and Russia have maintained tight political and military connections, and in September the two nations performed large combined war drills, as per SFGate.
Peskov attempted to turn the tables on Ukraine and the West, claiming that the US and its allies' statements of worry may be used to "mask aggressive intentions in Kyiv to try to settle the southeast crisis by force."
He accused the Ukrainian military of growing regular gunfire across the tight line of contact in the east and said that the United States and other NATO nations giving arms to Ukraine is a major concern for Moscow.
Related Article : US Warns Russia Against Another "Mistake" in Ukraine Border; Blinken Claims Kremlin May Be Attempting To Rehash 2014 Invasion
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