Russians are training 200,000 soldiers. I have no doubt that they will go to Kyiv again, - Zaluzhny
Russia is stockpiling men and weapons for a new offensive.
This was stated by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhnyi in an interview with The Economist, Censor.NET reports.
"The Russian mobilization worked. It is not true that their problems are so terrible that these people will not fight. They will fight. The Tsar tells them to fight and they fight. I studied the history of the two Chechen wars - everything was the same. Maybe they are not as well equipped but still a problem for us. We estimate they have a reserve of 1.2-1.5 million people...
The Russians are training about 200,000 new soldiers. I have no doubts they will go to Kyiv again," he said.
At the same time, The Economist notes that Russia is stockpiling people and weapons for a new offensive.
"Already in January, but most likely in the spring, it can launch a major attack from Donbas in the east, south, or even Belarus. Russian troops will seek to push back Ukrainian forces and may even make a second attempt to take Kyiv," the publication writes, referring to the words of Zaluzhny.
The publication also said that Zaluzhnyi, with President Zelenskyi and the commander of the Ground Forces, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, warned of a critical few months ahead.
"As in the Second World War, I have no doubt, most likely, somewhere beyond the Urals, new resources are being prepared. They are being prepared 100%. Ammunition is being prepared, not very good, but still. These will not be the resources that could b to be in two years of the armistice. It will be lousy, and the combat potential will be very, very low; even if he recruits another million men into the army to throw corpses like Zhukov (senior Soviet commander during World War II) did, it will still not bring the desired result," explained the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. Source:
https://censor.net/en/n3387223
Zaluzhny about mobilization: We have enough people, we need heavy weapons and ammunition
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny explained whether Ukraine needs a new wave of mobilization.
He said this in an interview with The Economist, Censor.NET reports.
Journalists asked Zaluzhny whether Ukraine needs a new wave of mobilization.
"We are already conducting it as it is. We have enough people, and I see what I have. I have enough. I don't need hundreds of thousands more. We need tanks; we need armored personnel carriers, we need armored personnel carriers. And we need ammunition," replied the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces.
We will remind, on December 6, the Minister of Defense Oleksiy Reznikov stated that it is not necessary to activate the conscription and recruit more people to the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine at the moment, since the number of personnel is sufficient.
On December 14, Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Malyar noted that the mobilization "will depend on the needs of the war." Source:
https://censor.net/en/n3387229
US imposes new sanctions against Russia
The U.S. Department of the Treasury and the State Department announced sanctions against dozens of Russian financial institutions, oligarch Vladimir Potanin, his network of organizations, and other individuals associated with the Russian government.
This is noted in official statement of Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury, reports Censor.NЕТ with reference to Ukrinform.
"Today OFAC is adding 18 entities associated with the Russian financial services sector to the SDN sanctions list," the document says.
In addition, the U.S. Department of State simultaneously adds to the list of restrictions a well-known Russian oligarch Vladimir Potanin, his network of organizations, as well as more than 40 other individuals associated with the government of the Russian Federation. Source:
https://censor.net/en/n3387254