Vladimir Putin was massing troops in southern Ukraine for what could be a new offensive that would contradict Donald Trump’s warning not to escalate the war.
Russian infantry groups could launch ground attacks in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhia region within days, attacking a front where fighting has been less active for months, a Ukrainian military spokesman said on Monday.
The attacks could create new pressure points for Kiev’s overstretched defenders, who are already losing territory in eastern Ukraine, although it was unclear whether an offensive would involve a single attack or separate attacks, the spokesman said.
“(The attacks) could start in the near future, we are not even talking about weeks, we expect it could happen any day,” Vladyslav Voloshyn said.
Russian assault units were reported to be advancing on a scale where they would significantly outnumber Ukrainian defenders along this part of the front line.
Trump has claimed he could end the conflict on the first day of his return to the White House.
Putin could therefore try to gain as much territory as possible in the coming weeks, before Trump’s second term begins in January, so that Russia has a strong negotiating position for any peace talks.
In the meantime, Britain supported Trump’s “warning” for Putin against escalating his situation war in Ukraine.
Defense Secretary John Healey also said that the British government expects Trump to continue supporting Ukraine “for as long as it takes to overcome Putin’s invasion” when he comes to power.
Mr Healey made the comment despite Trump says he can end the conflict on the first day of his second term in the White HouseThat would almost certainly mean that Ukraine would have to cede large parts of the country to Russia.
“We’ll have to wait and see what President Trump actually proposes,” Healey told BBC Breakfast.
“But if the reports about his telephone conversation with Putin last week are true, then President Trump is exactly right to warn Putin about escalating the conflict in Ukraine.”
He added: “I expect that because of the strength of bipartisan support in the US and the recognition that it is in no one’s interest to allow an aggressor like Putin to forcibly redraw international borders, that the US remains steadfast alongside countries like Britain.”
As Putin steps up his war in Ukraine, with thousands of North Korean troops joining the conflict and Russia is launching some After 2,000 ‘kamikaze’ drone attacks on the war-torn country last month, Trump is said to have spoken to the Russian president in recent days.
The US president-elect reportedly told Putin not to escalate the war.
“We do not comment on private conversations between President Trump and other world leaders,” Trump communications director Steven Cheung said when asked about the phone call, which was first reported by The Washington Post.
Trump also spoke with Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday.
The Ukrainian president said late on Sunday that strength and diplomacy must work together to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
“We understand very clearly that diplomacy has no prospects without strength,” he said in his late-night video address.
Zelensky emphasized Monday that Ukrainian soldiers are battling nearly 50,000 enemy troops in Russia’s Kursk region, which Kiev forces seized in a surprise raid over the summer.
He also said Ukraine would “significantly strengthen” its positions on the Pokrovsk and Kurakhove fronts in the east, where the heaviest fighting is taking place as Russia gradually seizes more land and suffers heavy casualties, reportedly killing more than 1,000 troops been killed or injured. day.
Leave a Reply