Russia may be preparing new offensive this summer – report
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It looks increasingly likely that Russia will launch a new major offensive early in the summer, and Ukraine's ability to deter it this time looks "much less sure," The Economist wrote in an article published on March 27.
Due to the threat of a new Russian offensive, Ukraine urgently needs to conscript more troops and build more reliable defenses on the front line.
The six-months-long pause in U.S. military aid to Ukraine could allow Russia to break through Ukraine's "inadequate" defense lines.
Russia is also preparing for another wave of mobilization to fuel the next major offensive.
Read also: Russia aims to create a new army of over 100,000 people, which could signal new summer offensive
According to the report, the March 22 terrorist attack at the Crocus City Hall in Moscow may even make it easier for Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to do so, as he uses it to claim that Russia must be strong "in the face of bloodthirsty enemies."
Ukraine's effort to draft more people into its military are "stuck in the coils of the democratic process," as more than 4,000 amendments have been submitted to the government's mobilization bill, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is seemingly unwilling to push through the unpopular and expensive measure.
Ukraine is also very late to building battlefield fortifications, The Economist writes. The Ukrainian government "still dreams of a new counteroffensive" and fears that the current front line could "harden into something very like a border" that would see Kyiv lose 20% of the country and much of the access to the sea.
According to the report, Zelenskyy fears the idea that the current front line could become a basis for future peace talks.
"But the dangers are now so great that it is the least bad option," the article reads.
Read also: Russia will fail to capture Kharkiv — regional governor
Ukraine began building fortifications only in recent weeks, which should have started much earlier, according to the journalists.
"Pray that it is not too late," the article concluded.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
