A major new Russian offensive in Ukraine is already underway.
That's according to NATO and Ukrainian officials who say Moscow has spent weeks bolstering
troops in eastern Ukraine ahead of the wars.
One year anniversary on February 24,
Russia President Putin do now is to send in thousands of
thousands of more troops.
Um,
accepting a very high rate of casualty,
new tanks and weapons that Ukraine is waiting to get from the west may not arrive in time to hold
back the Russians.
Both sides are preparing both for offensive action and
defensive action.
We are coming up to a significant moment in the war.
What Ukraine can do with the new forces and new weapons it gets from the
west will be critical as winter gives way to spring.
Here's how Ukraine or Russia may try to gain the upper hand in the coming months.
Military analysts say the pace of the war slowed down over winter.
But there were key moments last november,
Ukraine retook her son,
the only provincial capital to fall to Russia.
Since the start of the war,
Mosque has been trying to regain momentum.
Russia took the eastern Ukrainian town of Solid R and the village of clichy Vca in
january and in the south forces have launched an offensive in the region.
Back in Eastern Ukraine has been Russia's main priority.
According to military analysts
in back mood,
there's been,
you know,
for the last few months,
significant exchanges of artillery fire.
People have compared it to kind of First World War battlefield,
in which there's very little movement of the front lines,
but huge exchanges of artillery
Population before the war was around 80,000.
Ukrainian commanders say only 2000 remain.
Russian media have played up its strategic value a victory.
While symbolic would be a major boost to troop morale to hold the
Donbas region,
Ukraine says,
weapons from the U.
S.
And european allies will play a crucial role.
Over the next few months,
Ukraine is expected to receive more Western weapons,
including air defense systems such as the patriots,
tanks,
leopard to Challenger two and M one Abrams and other armored vehicles.
The Ukrainians have shown themselves pretty efficient in warfare with tanks that people
know how to use them,
but they will need training on the different systems coming in from the west and that
will be something that will need to happen in the coming months.
Ukrainian forces have begun training in the US Britain,
Germany and spain,
but analysts say could be months before they're fully up to speed.
Russia accused the west of trying to prolong the conflict by supplying weapons to
Ukraine.
Meanwhile,
Russia spent months training thousands of troops in the country's west and in Belarus.
According to Ukrainian officials,
hundreds of thousands of troops have been mobilized for the offensive in the Donbas.
The Ukrainians are on their part would be looking largely to make
further gains in the south towards military and
also act to sort of cut a supply line a road between
the towns of Bartova and Criminal.
Russia will likely want to push the Ukrainians further back in the south,
so they don't threaten supply lines in particular those between columbus and the east and
Crimea,
which the Russians control in the south.
Russia Use the winter to regroup.
But Western officials say they don't expect the Russians to make major territorial gains in the coming
weeks and they hope that with new weapons,
Ukraine can hold Russian forces back while building on the momentum they had last year.
The Western officials that one talks to don't seem to believe that
the war will be over this year.
So although it may be,
you know,
it's very important and potentially decisive phase ahead,
there is no widespread expectation.
I don't think that the war will end in 2023.