Russia planning invasion anniversary offensive - Ukraine

Ukraine's defence curate has said Russia is preparing a large caller offensive, and warned that it could statesman arsenic soon arsenic 24 February.

Oleksii Reznikov said Moscow had amassed thousands of troops and could "try something" to people the day of the archetypal penetration past year.

The onslaught would besides people Russia's Defender of the Fatherland Day connected 23 February, which celebrates the army.

Mr Reznikov said Moscow had mobilised immoderate 500,000 troops for the offensive.

But Mr Reznikov suggested that the existent fig recruited and deployed to Ukraine could beryllium acold higher.

"Officially they announced 300,000 but erstwhile we spot the troops astatine the borders, according to our assessments it is overmuch more," helium told the French BFM network. The BBC cannot independently verify this figure.

Despite immoderate dense warring successful the eastbound Donbas region, the warfare has entered thing of a stalemate successful caller months since Ukraine retook the confederate metropolis of Kherson.

But Mr Reznikov said Ukraine's commanders would question to "stabilise the beforehand and hole for a counter-offensive" up of the rumoured Russian advance.

"I person religion that the twelvemonth 2023 tin beryllium the twelvemonth of subject victory," helium said, adding that Ukraine's forces "cannot suffer the initiative" they person achieved successful caller months.

The defence curate was successful France to onslaught a woody to acquisition further MG-200 aerial defence radars, which helium said would "significantly summation the capableness of the equipped forces to observe aerial targets, including winged and ballistic missiles, and drones of assorted types".

Mr Reznikov's comments travel arsenic Ukrainian quality alleges that President Putin has ordered his forces to prehend the Donbas earlier the extremity of spring.

But speaking connected Monday, Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned that determination were nary indications that Mr Putin had constricted his subject goals to seizing eastbound regions of Ukraine.

"That they are actively acquiring caller weapons, much ammunition, ramping up their ain production, but besides acquiring much weapons from different authoritarian states similar Iran and North Korea," Mr Stoltenberg said.

"And astir of all, we person seen nary motion that President Putin has changed his wide extremity of this penetration - that is to power a neighbour, to power Ukraine. So arsenic agelong arsenic this is the case, we request to beryllium prepared for the agelong haul."

Meanwhile, Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minster Hanna Malyar said that aggravated warring was continuing successful the Donbas region, wherever Russian forces and Wagner Group mercenaries person been trying to instrumentality the municipality of Bakhmut.

"Russian troops are actively trying to scope the borders of Donetsk and Luhansk regions," she wrote connected the Telegram messaging app. "Our soldiers support each centimetre of Ukrainian land," she said.