A Western authority told the Financial Times that the current year is unlikely to see an “operational breakthrough” in one direction or another.
Russia is possibly planning a major attack for next summer, Financial Times said on Friday, citing Ukrainian security authority sources.
According to the sources, Russia’s intention would be to seize at least the entire regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. Russian troops have taken over some parts of the regions, and they held “referendums” on joining Russia in 2022. However, according to the authorities, it would not be impossible that Russian President Vladimir Putin would try to take over Kharkiv as well or even Kiev.
According to the US intelligence assessment seen by the newspaper, Putin’s ultimate goal in Ukraine has not changed. He still wants to take over the whole country and subjugate Ukrainians under Russian rule.
Ukraine is urged to actively defend itself
Separately, a Western official told the Financial Times that this year will hardly see an “operational breakthrough” in one direction or another.
According to him, Ukraine should change its strategy to active defense. The purpose of the strategy would be to strengthen the positions of the Ukrainian forces while they would scout for weak points in the Russian defenses. A similar strategy has also been supported by the Estonian Ministry of Defense in a report published in December and the United States, according to which the Ukrainian forces could continue and intensify their long-range attacks, especially on the Crimean peninsula.
The loopholes of Russia’s arms embargoes must be blocked
Ukraine called on Western countries to get serious about limiting Russia’s arms production. According to Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, almost all important parts that Russia uses for its weapons come from Western countries.
According to Kuleba, some studies suggest that up to 95 percent of the critical foreign-made parts found in Russian weapons were made in Western countries. According to him, the companies, among other things, export to Russia civil technology that can also be used in weapons.
Kuleba did not say exactly where the estimates of the amount of Western technology came from, but Ukraine is known to have dismantled a large number of Russian missiles and fighter jets.