The offensive of Russia is already underway: Budanov predicted an imminent turning point in the war
The Russians have a "strategic task" - to reach the administrative borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions by March 31, the head of intelligence recalled.
Russia's "big" offensive in Ukraine is already underway, but it is of such a quality that not everyone even sees it.
This statement was made by the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Kirill Budanov, in an interview with Forbes, noting that the Russians have a "strategic task" - to reach the administrative borders of Donetsk and Lugansk regions by March 31.
"This is what they dream of, they will not be able to do it," he said.
According to Budanov, decisive battles are expected at the front from the middle to the end of spring, which could become a turning point in the war.
As the representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense Vadim Skibitsky stated in a commentary to the Associated Press, the activation of the occupying forces began in early February.
“After leaving Kherson, the Russians regrouped, which took 2 months. Real offensive actions by the Russian Federation began in early February: at least 4-5 directions where active hostilities began. You can expect anything - both missile strikes and other provocative actions, but the Ukrainian defense forces are ready for this," Skibitsky said.
The representative of the GUR noted that a lot will depend on what the next months will be like.
According to Skibitsky, now the main targets of Russia are Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region, Liman, Bakhmut, Marinka, Avdeevka and Vuhledar in the Donetsk region. He noted that, despite the intense fighting in these sectors of the front, the successes of the Russian troops are insignificant and testify to the exhaustion of their forces.