Ukraine’s defense minister said Wednesday that Kyiv believes Russia will mark the first anniversary of its invasion next month with a renewed offensive.
“We think since they believe in symbols, they will attempt something around Feb. 24,” Oleksii Reznikov said in an interview with French channel BFM.
“They can attempt a push on two axes,” Reznikov said. “It can be the Donbas, it can be in the south. And we tell our partners we must also ourselves be ready as soon as possible, and that’s why we need weapons, to contain the enemy. Wars are all about initiative, and we can’t lose the initiative.”
Reznikov was echoing repeated warnings from Ukrainian officials in recent weeks about an anticipated spring offensive from Moscow’s forces. Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said Tuesday that the coming months of the war will be “defining.”
Ukraine’s General Staff, in its daily morning update on Thursday, said Russian forces were “active in reconnaissance and preparing for an offensive.”
