War in Ukraine. Defense Minister: Russia is preparing a new offensive, possibly in February

In an interview with the British newspaper “The Guardian”, Reznikov assessed it The attack could be launched by the end of February next yearHowever, for example, the commander of the Ukrainian army, General Valery Zaluzny, suggested that this could happen already at the end of January.

Reznikov pointed out that such an attack Russia could use about half of the 300,000 who were mobilized in the fall. As he said, half of them, often with minimal training, were used to reinforce forces at the front after a series of battlefield defeats, while the rest were being more fully prepared for future attacks.

“The rest of the mobilised, about 150,000 people, have started training courses in various camps. They (conscripts) are being prepared for at least three months. That means they are trying to launch another attack in February like last year. This is their plan,” said the Defense Minister.

He expects Russia to continue conscripting its citizens beyond the current partial mobilization. He called the Russian trick a “meat grinder.” – Throwing as many troops as possible onto the battlefield in the hope that they will overwhelm the small Ukrainian forces.

Reznikov said Ukraine is different, and its well-trained troops and weapons from allies will allow it to withstand new attacks. “If it was meat grinder against meat grinder, we would lose, and it would be wrong to see us as a small Soviet army fighting a large Soviet army. Of course a large Soviet army will win, a small Soviet army will lose, but we are not a Soviet army. He insisted.

According to him, Ukraine has now beaten Russia in the air. He emphasized that Ukraine’s air defense systems have increased efficiency from 50 percent to 50 percent. 80 percent at the start of the war. In December. For example, he cited data showing that Ukraine shot down 60 of the 70 missiles launched by Russia on December 5.

The Minister noted that Ukraine must continue to demonstrate to its Western allies that it is worth investing in and transferring new types of weapons. He cited the sinking of the Moscow warship by the Ukrainian Neptune system in April as an example. “When we used the Ukrainian invention Neptune to sink a Moscow warship, we were given Harpoons (US-made anti-ship missiles) to defend our coast.” – he said.

He noted that the series of victories has created something beyond diplomatic trust between Ukraine and its partners. “It’s more: you started believing in us, investing not only in weapons for Ukraine, but after this victory you want to see a new Ukraine, not the old Soviet Ukraine,” Reznikov believes.