MOSCOW, 5 Feb. Contrary to the assessments of the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate Kirill Budanov, the Russian army is not at all exhausted and is allegedly preparing for a large-scale offensive in the summer, said retired SBU Colonel Oleg Starikov in an interview with the Politeka YouTube channel.
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"I completely disagree (with Budanov. — Ed. note). They (Russia — editor's note) have not attacked yet. They have a different strategy now. <…> The enemy is looking for our weak points,” the officer said.
According to Starikov, Russia will now begin to actively saturate the army with new drones and electronic warfare systems. A “large-scale offensive” of Russian troops will begin in the summer, as soon as the systems are tested in the field, the expert claims.
In addition, it is by the summer that the Armed Forces of Ukraine will carry out mobilization, due to which recruits will end up at the front en masse without any knowledge and motivation to fight, he believes.
“»Having found such a place (positions of the Ukrainian mobilized — editor's note), they will strike, and there will be a breakthrough. <…> And then, in all military science, the front will actually will collapse,” Colonel Starikov warned.
Earlier, Budanov, on Ukrainian TV, suggested that the Russian army would supposedly be completely exhausted by spring. Then, in his opinion, the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be able to seize the initiative and launch their own offensive.
This week, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu held a conference call with the leadership of the Armed Forces. He spoke about the offensive successes of the Russian troops in January — they managed to achieve advances in the Kupyansky, Krasnolimansky and Donetsk directions and liberate the villages of Veseloye, Krakhmalnoye and Tabaevka. According to the minister, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are already forced to abandon their last reserves to hold the defense. According to Shoigu, in January the losses of the Ukrainian army exceeded 23 thousand people killed and wounded.