As of: February 26, 2024, 2:06 p.m
By: Rebecca Rohrich
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Rumors are growing that Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin is planning another major offensive in Ukraine.
The opportunity would be more than favorable.
© IMAGO/Sergei Bobylev
Rumors are growing that Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin is planning another major offensive in Ukraine.
The opportunity would be more than favorable.
Moscow - Something may be brewing in the east of Ukraine that could put the Ukrainian military, which is currently low on ammunition, in dire straits and bring about a dramatic turnaround in the Ukraine war: The Ukrainian secret service is assuming that in the next three weeks the eastern Ukrainian region A major Russian offensive is imminent in Luhansk.
He makes this clear in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
The reasons for this are obvious to the Ukrainians.
Vladimir Putin is probably planning an offensive in the Ukraine war: presidential elections are increasing the pressure
The presidential elections are coming up in Russia in just a few weeks, the results of which probably won't surprise anyone.
Current President Vladimir Putin is considered the absolute favorite, although Western observers assume that the elections were manipulated.
Nevertheless, autocrat Putin is currently confronted with the fact that support for the war in Ukraine among the Russian population still has shaky ground.
Above all, it is the many dead soldiers that are destabilizing support in Russia.
And after the death of the last Russian opposition figure, Alexei Navalny, the West significantly tightened sanctions against Russia.
Putin must therefore be careful that the mood among the population does not change completely.
Even if he successfully got rid of his biggest opponents, Yevgeny Prigozhin and Alexei Navalny, as newsweek.de reports.
Putin urgently needs further military successes.
The capture of the city of Avdiivka may have been just the beginning of a series of successes.
The conquest of the strategically important Luhansk region would be logical.
“Before the elections, they want to reach at least the administrative borders of Luhansk Oblast,” Vadym Skibitsky, the deputy head of the Ukrainian Secret Service (GUR), told Interfax-Ukraine.
“To have at least some success, something like Avdiivka, maybe somewhere else on another front.”
Luhansk in Putin's sights: Region strategically important, opportunity is favorable
If you believe Skibitsky's assessment, Luhansk won't stay.
He assumes that the coming Putin offensive will be enormous and that the Donetsk region will again come into focus.
In addition, Putin must hold onto areas that have already been taken, such as Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, because they would secure access to Crimea.
“You need a logistics system that crosses Crimea to transport ammunition, equipment and personnel to the south,” the GUR representative said.
Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin will give his state of the nation speech on February 29th – a good two weeks before the presidential election.
The Kremlin announced this on Tuesday in Moscow.
The 71-year-old Putin wants to inform the Federal Assembly - the State Duma and the Federation Council - about his goals for the coming year.
Presidential election in Russia: It is unclear whether Putin will reveal details of his Ukraine plans
It is considered certain that Putin will be confirmed in office for the fifth time in the vote scheduled for March 15-17.
The opposition is not allowed.
Putin's competitors support the Kremlin chief's policies and, from the perspective of government critics, are seen as mere decorations.
At the beginning of the third year of his war of aggression against Ukraine, Putin is also likely to address the course of the invasion.
It remains to be seen to what extent Putin will confirm the fears of the Ukrainian secret service that the next major offensive is imminent.