Just a few days ago, Russian deputy and retired general Andrey Gurulev urged the Russian authorities and the Ministry of Defense to begin actively preparing for the next wave of mobilization. And this is despite claiming at the beginning of January that no further taxes will be levied in the next six months.
“Russia will have to carry out the second or even the third wave of mobilization. To win in Ukraine, we need to send half a million more soldiers to the war,” Igor Girkin, a former officer of Russia’s FSB security service, told the Institute for War Studies (ISW). .
The American nonprofit points out that the discussion about the second wave of mobilization is somewhat wrong. Indeed, Russian President Vladimir Putin has not issued an order to officially end the so-called first wave of mobilization that began in the autumn. According to lawyers, the Russian Federation is thus laying the groundwork for new taxes.
Ukrainian military intelligence services expect mobilization to begin next Sunday. “It starts on January 15. “After the winter holidays in Russia are over,” Vadym Skibitsky, spokesman for the Ukrainian military intelligence service, told the British newspaper The Guardian. “We expect Moscow to mobilize another 500,000 people,” he estimated.
Despite the expected influx of new fighters, Ukrainian officials are not worried. Its armed forces are ready to repel the attack and continue to liberate Ukrainian territory.
“Even hundreds of thousands of additional troops cannot prevent our army from advancing,” Ukrainian military intelligence official Andrey Chernyak told Ukrainian website Suspilne. “We hope that with the help of our partners and the weapons they have provided us, we will defeat the enemy and restore Ukraine’s state borders,” he said.
Where is the war going?
Even after ten months of war in Ukraine there is no peace in sight. According to analyst Michal Smetana, the ceasefire is not helping anyone. “Russia still occupies a significant part of the territory of Ukraine, which is also economically important,” he says.
According to Chernyak, although it is not yet possible to publish the exact plans of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, he noted that both the commanders-in-chief and the armed forces are ready.
“The aggressor wants to seize new territory, but they already understand that they will lose. That is why they are building walls in Zaporozhye, in the south of the occupied Kherson region and in the north of the occupied Crimea. They know that they will have to conduct combat operations there, so they are already building defensive structures.” said.
According to British intelligence, now the Russian command is most concerned about a potential large-scale offensive of the Ukrainian armed forces in the north of the Luhansk region or in Zaporozhye.
Ukraine’s head of military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, has previously stated that his country is preparing for a major offensive for the spring. According to him, the biggest battles will take place in March.
Source: Seznam Zpravy
I am Joel Fitzgerald, a news website author for The News Dept. I have worked in the media and journalism industry for over 10 years and specialize in world news. My articles have been featured in prominent publications such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, where I am an expert contributor on global affairs.
I also write extensively on topics related to politics, economics, business, finance and technology. My work has been recognized with numerous awards from organizations such as the United Nations Press Corps and Associated Press Editors Association of America (APEA).
In addition to my writing career, I have held various roles within the field of communications ranging from public relations specialist to digital strategist.
