The Russian Federation may make another offensive attempt as early as February. For Ukraine, the main thing is to hold the front line and not surrender positions, since it is much more difficult for our soldiers to liberate the territories. This was stated by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny in an interview with The Economist.
As Zaluzhny noted, Ukraine monitors the situation around the front and Russia's preparations for a second offensive with the help of partners.
Now an important task for the Armed Forces is to prepare for a possible Russian offensive in February in order to continue the war with fresh forces and reserves.
"Our troops are now all tied up in battles, they are bleeding. They are bleeding and they are being pulled out. They are bleeding and holding on only thanks to the courage, heroism and ability of the commanders to keep the situation under control," Zaluzhny added.
According to the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, Russia can resume the offensive in February, in the best case in March, and in the worst - in January. At the same time, the offensive may not take place in Donbas, but in the direction of Kyiv from the side of Belarus. They also do not rule out the southern direction.
"We've done all the calculations - how many tanks, artillery and so on and so forth we need. That's what everyone needs to focus on now. Forgive me soldiers in the trenches, but now it's more important to focus on accumulating resources for longer and harder battles . . which can start next year," Zaluzhny noted.
The commander-in-chief plans to discuss everything necessary for soldiers with the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley.