Advertisement
Advertisement
Ukraine war
Get more with myNEWS
A personalised news feed of stories that matter to you
Learn more
Anti-tank hedgehogs in the main square of Kyiv. The commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces expects a new Russian attack on the capital. Photo: AP

‘Another go at Kyiv’: Ukraine expecting new Russian offensive early 2023

  • Head of Ukraine’s armed forces expects a new Russian attack on Kyiv in the early months of 2023
  • Russia is said to be preparing some 200,000 fresh troops possibly as part of a broad new offensive
Ukraine war

Ukrainian defence chiefs predicted Russia will launch a new offensive early next year that could include a second attempt to take the capital Kyiv, as Western allies stepped up their support with additional funding and military training.

Moscow’s new offensive could happen as soon as January, President Volodymyr Zelensky, General Valery Zaluzhny and General Oleksandr Syrskiy were quoted as saying in interviews with The Economist magazine on Thursday.

The push could be launched from the eastern Donbas area, the south or neighbouring Belarus, and could include another ground assault on Kyiv, which Moscow failed to capture early in the invasion, the officials said.

“The Russians are preparing some 200,000 fresh troops. I have no doubt they will have another go at Kyiv,” Zaluzhny was quoted as saying.

Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said in remarks published in The Guardian on Thursday that evidence was mounting that Russia planned a broad new offensive.

He speculated this could occur in February when half of the 300,000 troops conscripted by Russia in October to support the war would complete training.

“The second part of the mobilisation, 150,000 approximately … do a minimum of three months to prepare. It means they are trying to start the next wave of the offensive probably in February, like last year. That’s their plan,” Reznikov told The Guardian.

Both sides have ruled out a Christmas truce and there are currently no talks aimed at ending the conflict, Europe’s largest since World War II.

Tens of thousands of people have been killed, millions more displaced and cities reduced to rubble since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24 in a “special military operation”, saying it needed to protect Russian speakers from Ukrainian nationalists. Ukraine and its allies call it an unprovoked war of aggression.

With Russia’s invasion in its 10th month, European Union leaders agreed on Thursday to provide €18 billion (US$19.1 billion) in financing to Ukraine next year and hit Moscow with a ninth package of sanctions.

The measures designate nearly 200 more people and bar investment in Russia’s mining industry, among other steps.

“Our joint determination to support Ukraine politically, financially, militarily and in the humanitarian area for as long as necessary remains unbroken,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said after talks among the 27 national EU leaders in Brussels.

02:50

Donetsk residents yearn for reprieve as Russian attacks leave millions of Ukrainians in the dark

Donetsk residents yearn for reprieve as Russian attacks leave millions of Ukrainians in the dark

In Washington, the US military announced it will expand training in Germany of Ukrainian military personnel. Starting in January, 500 troops a month will be trained, building on more than 15,000 Ukrainians trained by the United States and its allies since April.

The programme is on top of those to teach Ukrainians to operate billions of dollars worth of specialised Western military equipment that the United States and its Nato allies have provided.

The US Senate passed a bill for a record US$858 billion defence budget next year, authorising US$45 billion more than proposed by President Joe Biden. The bill, which Biden is expected to quickly sign into law, provides Ukraine at least US$800 million in additional security assistance in 2023.

Ukraine has repeatedly urged its allies to send more air defences to counter Russian missile bombardment including against its energy infrastructure.

Russia has fired barrages of missiles on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure since October, disrupting power supplies and leaving people without heating in freezing winter conditions.

On Friday, Russia fired more than 70 missiles, knocking out electricity in its second biggest city Kharkiv, hitting critical infrastructure in the south and causing explosions in the capital Kyiv, Ukrainian officials said.

Ukraine shot down 60 out of the 76 missiles fired at it by Russia on Friday, the commander in chief of the Ukrainian armed forces said.

At the end of February, Moscow sent its forces into Ukraine with the aim of swiftly capturing Kyiv, but failed. File photo: AFP

Ukrainian shelling of a Russian-controlled village in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine killed at least 11 people on Friday and 20 were missing, the Russian state news agency TASS reported, citing emergency services.

Earlier this week, Russia launched the first major drone attack on Kyiv in weeks. Two administrative buildings were hit but air defences largely repelled the attack, with 13 drones reportedly shot down.

The United States is finalising plans to offer Ukraine the Patriot missile defence system – one of the most advanced systems, and one which could require months of training.

The Kremlin said the United States was getting “deeper and deeper into the conflict” and that Patriot systems would be legitimate targets. Russia’s foreign ministry said on Thursday this applied to all weapons supplied by the West.
12