Brussels, Feb 15 (IANS) Russia is preparing to send a new force of fighter jets and attack helicopters to regain ground in Ukraine, intelligence officials have warned, according to a media report.
Western analysts have said a build-up of aircraft on the Ukrainian border could see Vladimir Putin’s forces attempt to push the offensive in the Donbas region, Daily Mail reported.
It comes as NATO defence ministers meet for a two-day summit in Brussels to discuss plans for military support for the war-torn country.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg told the military alliance’s member countries that they must step up deliveries to ensure Ukraine can fight back against Russian aggression as Europe risks running out of ammunition, Daily Mail reported.
Former Norway Prime Minister Stoltenberg said: “This has become a grinding war of attrition and therefore it’s also a battle of logistics. This is a huge effort by allies to actually be able to get in the ammunition, the fuel, the spare parts, which are needed.”
He added: “We see no signs that President Putin is preparing for peace. What we see is the opposite, he is preparing for more war, for new offensives and new attacks.”
Ukrainian officials said Moscow is plotting a much broader offensive on the eastern Donbas regions, but also fresh attacks on Kharkiv in the northeast and Zaporizhzhia in the country’s south-east with aircraft and thousands of tanks and armoured vehicles, Daily Mail reported.
On Tuesday, Putin sent two nuclear-capable bombers over the Bering Sea, which separates Russia from Alaska, in a show of strength to the West.
Such moves were common during the Cold War, but it is the first time the Russia Federation has taken such a measure.
Ukraine is reportedly preparing to use British long-range missiles to strike the Russian-held Crimea while Russia prepares to launch its new wave of attacks, Daily Mail reported.
–IANS
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