Kiev, Ukraine (AP) — Russian troops are preparing to launch new military attacks in the coming weeks to maximize pressure on Ukraine and strengthen the Kremlin's negotiating position at ceasefire talks, the Ukrainian government and military analysts said.
The move could give Russian President Vladimir Putin any reason to delay discussions about suspending the battle in support of seeking more land, Ukrainian officials said they updated their country's repeated arguments that Russia has no intention of engaging in meaningful dialogue to end the war.
According to analysts and military commanders, the Kremlin is focusing on multi-faceted pushes across the 1,000-kilometer (621 miles) frontline as spring battle season approaches.
Ukrainian President Voldimia Zelenkie said Russia is preparing for new attacks in the northeastern, Kharkiv and Zapolitzhia regions, citing the intelligence report.
“They are dragging out their talks and trying to get stuck in endless and meaningless discussions about fake 'conditions' so that the US can buy time and grab more land,” Zelenkiy said on a visit to Paris on Thursday. “Putin wants to negotiate territory from a stronger position.”
Two G7 diplomats from Kyiv agreed to the assessment. They spoke on condition of anonymity. Because they were not given the authority to briefly explain the press.
Russia effectively rejects the US proposal for an immediate and complete 30-day suspension of combat, and the feasibility of a partial ceasefire in the Black Sea has been cast into question after Kremlin negotiators imposed widespread conditions.
Ukrainian emergency services said four people were killed and 21 people were injured on Friday evening after Russian drones struck Dnipro in the east of the country. At least seven people were injured when a Russian ballistic missile struck Zelensky's hometown, Krivii Lee, local governor Serhii Lysak said.
The success of the battlefield is clearly in Putin's mind.
“At the entire frontline, strategic initiatives are entirely in the hands of the Russian military,” Putin said Thursday at an Arctic forum in Murmansk. “Our army, our troops, are releasing settlements one after another every day.”
The Ukrainian military commander said Russia recently had strengthened its attack to improve its tactical position ahead of the broader expected attack.
“They need time until May, that's all,” said Pablo Narozhny, a Ukrainian military analyst.
In the north, Russian and North Korean soldiers had almost taken negotiating tips from Kiev by seizing most of the Russian Kursk region, where Ukrainian soldiers had made a bold invasion last year. The battle also escalated along the Eastern Front of Donetsk and Zaporidia.
A concern among some commanders is whether Russia may divert its fighting-stricken troops from Kursk to other regions east.
“That would be difficult. The army from Kursk will be the best from victory there,” said the commander of the Ukrainian Battalion in the Donetsk region.
“They are preparing for frontal offensive actions that should last for almost all of 2025 for six to nine months,” said Ukrainian military analyst Olexi Hettman.
Russia negotiated with clear advantages in the war. Now, after recaptured 80% of the territory of the Kursk region prior to the lecture, the force has strengthened its fights at other parts of the frontline.
“The number of frontline collisions has not decreased,” Hetman said. “If they want to stop the war, their actions certainly don't show that.”
Russia has stepped up its reconnaissance mission to find and destroy fire locations, drone systems and other capabilities that could hinder future onslaughts, two Ukrainian commanders said.
“All of these could be indications that an attack is being prepared for the near future,” Hetman said.
The fighting in the eastern part of Pokrovsk, one of Ukraine's main defense hubs and one of the main logistics hubs in the Donetsk region, is also intensifying. That capture would bring Russia closer to the stated purpose of acquiring the entire region.
“The Russians have been significantly exhausted over the past two months. They have been suspended for 10 days in March,” military spokesman Major Viktor Trevbov said of the situation in Pokrovsk. The attack resumed in mid-March. “This means that the Russians simply recovered.”
A Ukrainian soldier with the call sign “Italian” said Russia is conducting intensive reconnaissance in his area of responsibility in the Pokrovsk region. Radio interception and intelligence indicate military accumulation in areas around Seridov, a city in the Pokrovsk region, and the creation of ammunition reserves, he said.
The accumulation includes large armored vehicles, and many new call signs heard in radio transmissions suggest that there is fresh force in place, he said.
Farther South is a military blog run by Mikhail Zvinchuk, a former officer in the press division of the Russian Ministry of Defense, and last week said that Russian troops recently unleashed a new attack on Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia region.
The attack caused Russian troops to travel towards Zaporisia city, “force the enemy to redeploy the troops from other divisions, leaving Robotin and Mala Tokumachakhaka in terrible protection,” the blog known as River said, “can be the first step towards liberation of Zaporisia region.
On Friday, Vladyslav Voloshyn, a spokesman for the Southern Ukrainian Defence Force, said the situation in the area was plagued after Russia gathered more troops to launch attacks with small groups of infantry.
“The tactic of using these small groups will bring results to Russia at other parts of the frontline,” he said.
Russian analysts predict optimism that future attacks will be successful.
Moscow-based military analyst Sergei Poletaev said in a recent commentary that he is “preparing for a spring and summer campaign” and “preparing for a spring and summer campaign.” “There is a growing sense that the Ukrainian army may be struggling to prepare it properly. Despite being exhausted from the battle, the Russian army could have a decisive success in the next six months to a year.
Meanwhile, at the negotiation table, Russia's demands reduced the outcome of the much-anticipated negotiations mediated by the US
Earlier this month, Moscow tentatively agreed to a partial ceasefire on the Black Sea shipping route after Russia effectively turned down the US proposal for a month-long suspension in combat.
However, the agreement was quickly raised doubts by Russia's claims about the broad terms that state banks would be reconnected to a rapid international payment system.
Along the frontline, the reported ups and downs of consultations are fueled by frustration and concern.
“No one believes them,” said the Ukrainian soldier known as Italian. “But we still hope that the conflict will move in a different direction. Everyone is waiting for some changes to the combat zone, as it's not good for us. We really don't want to admit that.”
