An urgent warning has been issued that Russia is building up a 100,000-strong force in preparation for a major offensive attack on Ukraine.
The head of Ukraine’s ground forces, Lieutenant General Oleksandr Pavliuk, has said the preparations could mean Russia is preparing an offensive for the beginning of summer.
Speaking to Ukrainian television channel ICTV, General Pavlyuk said the 100,000-strong force wouldn’t necessarily be a an offensive.
But he conceded that “offensive operations” might be possible in the approach to summer 2024.
He said: “We don’t fully know the Russian plans. We only know that they are creating a group of more than 100,000 people.
“It is not necessarily that it will be an offensive, they may be replenishing their units that are losing their combat capability.”
He added: “But there is a possibility that by the beginning of summer, they may have some forces to conduct offensive operations on one of the directions.”
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