The Russian army is preparing a new offensive in Ukraine, Andrei Kartapolov, head of the State Duma defense committee, told Ura.ru. “As for the offensive, it is necessary to create conditions. This process is underway”, the MP said.
The Ukrainian command also believes that Russia is going to go on the offensive, Newsweek wrote the day before. In Kyiv believe that the enemy will begin to prepare the ground from October, and in the spring will strike the main blow. In this regard, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are discussing the possibility of changing tactics.
Earlier, the Ukrainian authorities began evacuation from Kupyansk district of Kharkiv region due to the fact that the Russian army formed an offensive group for a breakthrough in this direction. According to the AFU General Staff’s estimates, we are talking about 100,000 soldiers, 900 tanks, 555 artillery systems and 370 MLRS.
Near Kupyansk is a large railroad junction that can be used to supply the army. The city itself is located at the junction of Kharkiv and Luhansk regions. The Russian Defense Ministry has been regularly reporting on troop advances in this direction since August.
On August 14, the commander of the AFU’s Joint Forces, Serhii Nayev, said that in the future the Russian army may again try to seize Kyiv. “Such a possibility exists, but as of now it is not backed up by forces and means”, he said.
On July 25, the State Duma passed a major package of militaristic laws: the draft age was raised to 30, citizens who received summonses were banned from traveling abroad, and the fine for failure to appear at a military recruitment office increased 10-fold to 30,000 rubles.
Commenting on the situation, Kartapolov said that the legislation was adjusted for “general mobilization” and “big war”. “And now this big war already smells. And we keep looking for whom we should remove from there, whom we should protect. There will be no one to protect later”, the MP added.
British intelligence predicted that a new wave of mobilization will begin in the near future. Analysts have pointed out that earlier the head of the main organizational and mobilization department of the Russian General Staff, Yevgeny Burdinsky, announced the formation of two new armies: all-armed and air armies. In addition, it is planned to create five divisions and 26 brigades.
Among the new military formations in London pointed to the “revival” of the 25th Combined Arms Army, about which the media wrote back in May. In 2023, officers from Buryatia and conscripts from the Irkutsk Region began to be recruited there.
The intelligence service stressed that without large-scale mobilization, it would not be possible to provide the necessary number of servicemen to replenish the new military formations.
