Top Putin ally Medvedev threatens nuclear strikes as 500k on standby
Dmitry Medvedev, who is a high-ranking official in Russia and an ally of President Vladimir Putin, has issued a warning that if Kyiv uses long-range missiles to attack Russia, then all of Ukraine will face a destructive response.
He made this threat of nuclear strikes on a TV channel that is owned by the Russian military.
Medvedev said: "There will be no negotiations in this case, only retaliatory strikes,
"The whole of Ukraine remaining under Kyiv's rule will burn... Our response may be anything."
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Russia building up forces prior to ‘likely' new military offensive in eastern Ukraine
Russia is building up its forces in eastern Ukraine in advance of a "likely" new military offensive, defence experts have warned. However, open-source intelligence has downplayed the possibility of Vladimir Putin launching a push to coincide with the first anniversary of his country's invasion, suggesting if he does it would be unlikely to succeed.
Putin sent troops into Ukraine, in what he insists on describing as a "special operation" rather than a war, on February 24, 2022.
However, since then they have encountered fierce resistance, notably when Ukraine recaptured the key strategic city of Kherson in November.
Speculation has been building that Putin will green-light a fresh offensive this spring, possibly timing it to coincide with the anniversary,
A Janes OSINT Force Monitoring analyst said: "Janes in the last few days has seen evidence of a new concentration of forces in the rear area of Svatove, which appears to be part of a larger buildup of Russian capabilities in northern Luhansk over the last two weeks.
"The buildup in forces includes fire support, manoeuvre, and enabling assets."
However, Janes has not yet observed an increase in Russian "shaping activity," which would be expected ahead of any large offensive land operation, they pointed out.
The analyst added: "Therefore, while Janes assesses that an escalation in Russian offensive operations is likely in short to medium term, it is not imminent in the next few days.
"Any new large-scale offensive is highly likely to be preceded by such shaping operations (for example increased artillery attacks) or it would be unlikely to achieve any sort of breakthrough.
"Meanwhile, small offensive actions are ongoing in this region and should not be seen as presaging any large offensive."
They continued: "Janes assesses that these smaller tactical actions are intended to prevent Ukrainian forces from putting the P-66/T-312 under fire control in the north while also expanding Russia's security buffer around Kreminna in the south."
Oleksii Reznikov, Ukraine's Defence Minister, yesterday claimed Putin was eyeing February 24 as a possible date to "try something".
Such a move would also mark Russia's Defender of the Fatherland Day the day before, which celebrates the army, he pointed out.
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