KIEV IS THROWING DUST IN EYES, PREPARING TO ATTACK

Just as at the beginning of 2022, Kiev and Western media predicted the exact dates of the start of Russian military operations in Ukraine on a weekly basis, so today all mainstream media are drowning in guesses about the beginning of the Ukrainian counteroffensive. Newsweek stated that the counteroffensive of the Kiev forces was scheduled for April 30, which means that there will definitely be nothing on April 30. There are rumors that the counteroffensive may be timed to coincide with the Victory Day on May 9. In their turn, Ukrainian media and officials are throwing dust in the eyes, and report that the weather does not yet allow the full use of all military potential, and heavy losses undermine their ability to launch a large-scale operation. All the ongoing comments on the Ukrainian offensive operations are nothing but part of the information war. Meanwhile, preparations for a large-scale offensive by Ukrainian forces continue on the fronts. The Ukrainian army will likely launch offensive operations in several directions at once. Most likely, the steppes in the Zaporozhye region will become the main battlefield. Ukrainian forces continue combat reconnaissance operations near Pologi, and their reconnaissance groups are active along the entire front lines in the region. It is expected that Ukrainian forces will try to break through towards Melitopol and the Sea of Azov in order to capture the port of Berdyansk and threaten the Crimean Bridge. At the same time, another attack may threaten the Ugledar direction in order to cut the Mariupol highway and complicate Russian logistics. In the south, Ukrainian forces also increased their activity on the western bank of the Dnieper. They are equipping firing positions with long-range artillery. Civilians are being forcibly evacuated from Stanislav. Military columns are moving at night from Krivoy Rog in the south direction to Berislav. Crossing the river is a necessary step for a successful offensive on a broad front. The task of the strike from the western bank of the Dnieper is to divert attention and pin down Russian units. In the Donetsk direction, large-scale offensive actions are unlikely. However, for sure, the Ukrainian military will increase the intensity of shelling of the civilian population in the Donetsk urban agglomeration in order to overload Russian air defenses. The ruins of Bakhmut may become a field for Ukrainian attempt to take revenge. The defeat of tens of thousands of Ukrainian servicemen by Wagner units was a big blow to the Ukrainian military command. The Ukrainian Army may try to split the Wagner units and the Russian Armed Forces in an attempt to surround the city. The Ukrainian military is also accumulating forces in the Kharkiv region, on the Kupyansk and Svatovo fronts. In the case of success in this area, Ukrainians will have the opportunity to surround the Lisichansk-Severodonetsk agglomeration. In its turn, the Russian military is closely observing enemy maneuvers, destroying Ukrainian military columns and manpower, strengthening defenses and launching massive airstrikes on Ukrainian military positions.