Russia Massing Forces for New Ukraine Offensive, US Sources Say
Russia is concentrating forces on the front line for a possible new offensive to seize more Ukrainian territory, according to two US officials with knowledge of the latest US assessments.
The Gaze reports on this with reference to CNN.
Russian commanders are ‘looking to build up a large force,’ the first US official said. He added that the likely offensive would be aimed at seizing further territory in eastern Ukraine.
"Putin will try to seize all the territory he can, up to the outskirts of Kyiv. The Russians will make every effort to get everything they can," said the second US official.
According to US estimates, it is largely Ukraine's unmanned aerial vehicles and the effectiveness of minefields that are holding Russia back, despite its significant manpower advantage in eastern Ukraine and in Russia's Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops still hold their positions.
At the same time, Ukraine is suffering from a significant shortage of human resources on the battlefield, and Russia also has its own problems with amassing the desired forces.
At the same time, the first source told CNN that there is no indication that North Korea is currently able to significantly increase the number of its troops in Ukraine after losing thousands of its soldiers in combat.
However, for several weeks now, US assessments have shown that Russia's military objectives, including the seizure of further territory in Ukraine, have not changed, despite the Donald Trump administration's calls for the Kremlin to adhere to the 30-day truce and begin real peace talks.
CNN previously reported that for several weeks, Ukrainian troops have been observing Russia moving significant numbers of troops and equipment to positions just a few tens of kilometres from the front line.
This information came as Ukrainian and Russian officials were preparing for a possible meeting in Turkey.
However, a source in the Turkish Foreign Ministry said that no meeting between Russia and Ukraine has been scheduled, despite Moscow's claims that the talks were scheduled for the morning of 15 May and then postponed to the afternoon.
Instead, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said after landing at Ankara airport on Thursday that a decision on further steps in the talks would be made after a conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
As The Gaze reported earlier, a plane carrying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on board landed at Ankara Airport in Turkey on Thursday.