The Ukrainian military authorities spoke about Russia’s future plans and actions in the war with Ukraine.

Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, stated that the Russians are preparing to deploy approximately 200 thousand new soldiers.

“The Russian mobilization worked. They will be fighting. The tsar tells them to go to fight, and they go to fight,” said Zaluzhnyi.

According to the estimates of the military authorities of Ukraine, Russia has a reserve of 1.2-1.5 million people.

The Commander-in-Chief is convinced that the Russians, much like during World War II, are somewhere beyond the Ural preparing new resources.

“Ammunition is being prepared, not a very good one, but even so. These will not be the resources that could have been prepared in two years of truce. They will be lousy, and the combat potential will be extremely low. Even if a million more people are recruited into the army to rush dead bodies, as Zhukov did, it will still not bring the desired result,” Zaluzhnyi noted.

At the moment, Russia is looking for ways to stop hostilities and secure a pause in any way.

“They need this for one simple goal: to get time to gather resources and create new potential so that they can continue achieving their goals,” said Zaluzhnyi.

Russia’s offensive

According to Zaluzhnyi, already in January, but most likely in the spring, Russia might launch a major offensive from Donbas in the east, from the south, or even from Belarus.

Russian troops will seek to push back Ukrainian forces and may even make a second attempt to take Kyiv.

General Zaluzhnyi, along with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Commander of the Ground Forces, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, warned that the few upcoming months will be critical.

At the same time, the Russians are working on other tasks: they are doing everything possible to prevent Ukrainian forces from regrouping.

“That’s why the hostilities are seen along the 1500-kilometer front line. Somewhere more intensely, somewhere less intensely, but they restrain our troops not to let them regroup,” said Zaluzhnyi.

Tasks of Ukraine

The current task of the Ukrainian forces is primarily to keep the frontier engaged, no longer lose positions and track the enemy’s actions.

“The second strategic task is to prepare for the Russian offensive, which can take place in February, at best in March, and in the worst case in late January. To be able to go through hostilities with fresh forces and reserves,” Zaluzhnyi said.

A new Russian offensive might not start from Donbas but heading towards Kyiv from the side of Belarus. Zaluzhnyi does not exclude the southern direction from the equation.

Valerii Zaluzhnyi also noted that it is important to focus on accumulating resources for more protracted and difficult battles that might begin next year.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces shared that Ukraine will be able to reach the combat lines as of February 23 if it would have 300 tanks, about 700 infantry fighting vehicles, and 500 howitzers.

Zaluzhnyi added that with the available resources, new major operations cannot be carried out, although the Command is now working on one of them. According to him, this operation is “already on the way.”

“I know I can beat this enemy. But I need resources,” said Zaluzhnyi.

The Commander-in-Chief plans to talk to General Mark Milley, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman about the needs of our warriors.

Goals of Russia

Brigadier General Oleksii Hromov, Deputy Head of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, mentioned that Russia seeks to convert the conflict into a prolonged armed confrontation.

The leadership of the Russian Federation seeks to convert the military conflict into a long armed confrontation aimed at exhausting Ukraine and its international partners.

According to him, the main strategic goals of Russia remain the capture of the entire territory of Ukraine and the prevention of its Euro-Atlantic integration.

“The Kremlin is aware that in the short term, it is impossible to achieve victory in the war, so it seeks to transform the conflict into a long armed confrontation aimed at exhausting Ukraine and our partners,” Hromov said.

At the same time, the representative of the General Staff emphasized that the Russian Federation does not let go of the psychological and economic pressure, primarily by conducting mass missile and artillery attacks on objects of the energy infrastructure of Ukraine. In this way, the enemy is trying to force Ukraine into negotiation and create a strategic pause to restore and accumulate its forces.

In the near future, Russia will be focusing on capturing the entire territory of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Belarus at this war

In Belarus, the movement of Russian troops continues. Last week, two tank battalions were transferred to the two training grounds.

Three MiG-31К Kinzhal missile carriers and the А-50U AEW&C aircraft appeared at the airfield in Machulishchi.

“This first of all indicates an increase in the ability of the aggressor to strike at the territory of Ukraine,” Hromov said.

He stressed that currently, Belarus does not have the necessary air force components that could reinforce activities during the offensive.

According to the General Staff, as of now, the likelihood of an offensive from Belarus remains low.

However, in the border Brest region, Belarusians are being recruited to the self-defense force. The military also introduced the death penalty for treason. It is possible that these actions of the Lukashenko regime could be the preparations for participation in the war.