The commander of the so-called Joint Forces Operation (JFO) in the Donbas, Lieutenant-General Oleksandr Pavlyuk, announced the expected date for the Russian invasion of Ukraine. According to him, it could start as early as February 20. Pavlyuk made such a statement in an interview with the British newspaper The Times.
“Russia may launch an attack on February 20, when the Winter Olympics are over. This date worries us,” Pavliuk said.
He recalled that February 20 is the last day of the joint Russian-Belarusian exercises “Allied Resolve – 2022”, linking them with the intention of attacking Ukraine. Pavlyuk assured that Ukraine is ready to resist.
“We have about half a million people who have gone through the war in this country … They are ready to tear the Russians apart with their bare hands,” the OOS commander said.
According to Pavlyuk, the Kremlin will concentrate strikes in the south-east of the country in order to cause maximum damage to the military and industrial potential of the country, and will also try to cut it off from the Black Sea. Russian invasion, in his opinion, threatens Kharkov, Dnepropetrovsk (Dnepr) and Odessa.
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