Ukrainian intelligence warns Russia is preparing a major build-up or troops in readiness for a major pre-Summer attack in a bid to gain major new ground ahead of any ceasefire talks
Ukrainian forces are bracing for another major frontline assault from Russia after learning of a large build-up of pre-battle troops in the north east. Intelligence analysis suggests Russia is massing assault units near embattled Kharkiv in readiness for a pre-summer bid to breakthrough defences.
It is possible, sources say, that Putin has ordered a major attack timed to gain ground if peace talks get underway, to give the Kremlin more leverage. There are also fears Moscow has developed and produced devastating fibre optic drones which cannot be electronically jammed and can be blown 25 miles inside Ukraine. Andriy Pomahaibus, chief of staff of Ukraine’s 13th Charter Operational Brigade,said the troop concentration may be a sign of planned assault operations.
He said: “Russian forces typically use a combined approach – artillery, drones for reconnaissance and attack, heavy equipment, and infantry. They often distract in one area and advance in another.” Attacks have been ongoing in border areas of Sumy and Kharkiv but it is believed a fresh escalation is coming as the ground hardens and the fighting season gets underway.
It is believed Russia wants to create buffer zones or large heavily defended no-go areas to prevent Ukraine from launching a counter-attack. In another significant move President Vladimir Putin visited Russia’s Kursk region for the first time on Wednesday since Moscow claimed it drove Ukrainian forces out of the area.
Russia has reclaimed about two-thirds of the captured territory of Kursk inside its border, leaving Ukraine with an area around Sudzha, a border town that was Ukraine’s main hub in the region. The kremlin claims no no direct peace talks have yet been scheduled between Ukraine and Russia.
It is almost a week since they held a face-to-face session in Turkey in which a major prisoner swap was agreed upon. kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “There is no concrete agreement about the next meetings. They are yet to be agreed upon.”
At the same time as the troop build-up near Kharkiv, it is also feared Russia is preparing large-scale forces within 100 miles of Russia’s border with Finland, sparking major alarm within NATO. An attack on Finland would drag other countries such as the UK into a major war with Russia.
Fresh building of barracks and other logistical hubs have been spotted along with preparations chillingly similar to the build up of Russian forces before the 2022 February invasion from Belarus and the eastern frontline.
During two hours of talks in Istanbul on May 16, Kyiv and Moscow agreed to exchange 1,000 prisoners of war each, in what would be their biggest such swap. Several months of intensified U.S. and European pressure on the two sides to accept a ceasefire and negotiate a settlement have yielded little progress.
And far from seeking peace Russia is readying for a summer offensive. Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this week that Moscow would “propose and is ready to work with” Ukraine on a “memorandum” outlining the framework for “a possible future peace treaty.”
Putin has effectively rejected a 30-day ceasefire proposal that Ukraine has accepted. European leaders have accused Putin of dragging his feet in peace efforts while he tries to press his bigger army’s battlefield initiative and capture more Ukrainian land. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday that preparations are underway for the potential prisoner exchange, which he described as “perhaps the only real result” of the talks in Turkey.
Russia and Ukraine have been firing dozens of long-range drones at each other’s territory almost daily. Russia’s Defence Ministry said it shot down 105 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 35 over the Moscow region. It was the second straight night that Kyiv’s forces have targeted the Russian capital.
More than 160 flights were delayed at three of Moscow’s four main airports, the city’s transport prosecutor said, as officials grounded planes citing concerns for passenger safety.
The attack prompted some regions to turn off mobile internet signals, including the Oryol region southwest of Moscow, which was targeted heavily Wednesday. Russia has come under escalating drone attacks from Ukraine.