The Russian army has already begun an offensive, although not as large-scale as the Russian Federation claimed, Israeli military analyst Yigal Levin said on air "Espresso". According to him, we are talking about the Zaporozhye direction, which is confirmed by the data of the General Staff.
"It is in the General Staff that it is reported that, in addition to the Bakhmut direction, combat operations have also intensified in the Zaporizhzhia region. That is, according to official information, the Russians have already begun the offensive. It is still ineffective, and we will hope that it will remain so," Levin explained.
However, according to the expert, Russia does not have the resources to resume a large-scale offensive against Ukraine.
"All this will not happen. Of the 300 Russians they mobilized, they were able to gather only 250. This number will only be enough to cover the losses in the temporarily occupied territories. They need to somehow keep these territories and that's it. There is no question of a major offensive," Levin added.
However, according to the analysts of the Institute for the Study of War, Russian troops in the Zaporozhye region are preparing for long-term defense. It is indicated that the "victory" messages from Russia and the official data of the General Staff regarding the repulsed attacks on Zaporozhye differ.
Canadian intelligence also confirms that Russian troops in the Zaporizhzhia direction are more focused on the construction of fortifications, which is in no way consistent with statements about the intention to launch a spring offensive in this direction.
Now Russia is more focused on seizing the Donetsk region, the intelligence report says. "Poorly equipped and insufficiently trained forces of Russia, most likely, will not be able to conduct a successful offensive in the Zaporizhzhia direction in the coming months," the intelligence officers believe.
