PUTIN'S D-DAY
Russia warns it ‘will gain world’s attention’ on Ukraine invasion anniversary in DAYS – as ‘two-front blitz’ prepared
RUSSIA has warned it will "gain the world's attention" on the one year anniversary of the Ukraine invasion.
The chilling message comes as Vladimir Putin is feared to be preparing for a new onslaught on Ukraine with up to 500,000 soldiers.
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Speaking on Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow plans to overshadow pro-Ukrainian events on the one year anniversary of the invasion on February 24.
Lavrov said Russian diplomats are working on something to make sure events in the West are "not the only ones to gain the world's attention".
He didn't provide any further details.
Russia is believed to be plotting an attack across two new fronts - pushing into eastern and southern Ukraine.
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Kyiv believe the attack may happen on or around February 24.
Mad Vlad is desperate to achieve something after a bruising first year which has seen his forces thrown back.
Ukraine fear the next few weeks will crucial for the conflict as they continue to call for weapons from the West.
Defence minister Oleksii Reznikov believes Putin is gathering up to 500,00 soldiers from the new offensive.
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He warned the Russians can carry out an offensive on two fronts, pushing into the south and into the east in the Donbas.
Kyiv is preparing for the assault - but have admitted things will be difficult and warned they "cannot lose the initiative".
Vlad's initial assault last February saw his forces storm towards Kyiv before they were thrown by back the Ukrainians.
Ukraine then went on the counteroffensive, liberating huge swathes of the country from the disorganised Russians.
The conflict then slowed down over the winter.
And in recent weeks it has been reported the Russians were beginning to make gains.
Putin likely will be seeking some sort of major triumph or new operation to mark the anniversary - with his future now tied to the success or failure of the war in Ukraine.
"We can’t lose the initiative... We think that, given that [the Russians] live by symbols, they can try something around February 24," said Reznikov.
He spoke of around "500,000" soldiers being mobilised by Putin.
The minister explained: "They officially declared about 300,000, but when we see their troops at the borders, according to our estimates, it is much more.
"[They] can carry out an offensive on two fronts: it can be Donbas, and it can be the south."
It comes after this week Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg warned the Russians were preparing for a major new attack.
He estimated around 200,000 men - and previous reports from Russian media has suggested the attack could involved up to 700,000 soldiers.
These will be defining months in the war
Oleksiy Danilov
The offered an update - saying that they believe Putin will not stage a previously speculated assault on Western Ukraine from Belarus.
But they suggested Vlad may be preparing for smaller raids on northern Ukraine in a bid to spread their defenses thin ahead the new offensive.
The think tank previously claimed an "imminent" Russian offensive on the war-torn nation is "the most likely course of action".
"These will be defining months in the war," Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, told Sky News.
"I’m conscious the main fights are yet to come and they will happen this year, within two to three months.
“Russia is preparing for maximum escalation. It is gathering everything possible, doing drills and training.
"When it comes to an offensive from different directions, as of now, I can say that we are not excluding any scenario in the next two to three weeks."
Ukrainian official Natalia Humeniuk also noted they are preparing for a new assault from the South.
"Not just on land, but on the sea and in air as well," she said.
Ukraine have detailed the "war chest" of new weaponry they want the West to provide to repel an attack, but the US stopped short of sending F-16 fighter jets.
British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has told reporters that it would "not be the right approach" to send jets but said no "solid decision" had been made.
Likewise, Moscow mouthpiece Peskov warned that long-range rockets which are believed to be included in an upcoming support package for Ukraine from the US would "escalate" the conflict.
Meanwhile, the EU plans to slap Russia with fresh sanctions by the anniversary of the invasion, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said on a visit to Kyiv.
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