Kyiv: Russia’s plan for an offensive in Donbas is under threat of failure
Russia is experiencing difficulties gathering sufficient forces for an attack in the Eastern Front.
A third of the Russian army involved in the war has already been destroyed, that is why it is difficult for Russia to gather sufficient troops for a large-scale offensive operation in the Donbas, said Lieutenant General Ihor Romanenko on the air of Ukraine 24 TV channel.
"They are trying to recruit personnel wherever they can. In terms of technology, too, but the equipment is no longer as new as it was," Romanenko said.
According to the general, the 5-to-1 ratio of forces in favor of the attacking side is required for a successful offensive, but Russia is unlikely to be able to gather such a number of troops.
"Somewhere around 3 to 1, maybe temporarily they will be able to do it," Romanenko added.
According to the Ukrainian general, the Russian offensive in the Donbas has once again been postponed, because Russians had been unable to form an attacking force. In addition, the offensive actions are hampered by prolonged rains in the region.
"There is a number of factors - natural, objective, subjective that affect their readiness, but they could be ready in the near future," the general said.
According to Romanenko, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces considers all scenarios, including the worst, in which Russian troops will be able to advance to the Dnieper river and go further to Kyiv, and at the same time Belarusian troops and the Russian group stationed in Transnistria will enter Ukraine.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia’s main goal at the moment is to encircle the 44,000-strong Ukrainian group of troops in the Donbas and breach a corridor to the administrative borders of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
Adviser to the head of the President's Administration, Mykhailo Podolyak, said that the large-scale offensive of Russian troops in the Donbas is Russia’s plan "B" after unsuccessful attempts to capture Kyiv.