|Shiksha Dev|THE DEN|
There has been a concern in the United States and Europe since at least October that Russia is preparing to launch a large-scale offensive in Ukraine early next year. Russian military movements near the Ukrainian border have contributed to this concern.
Vladimir Putin, according to the White House, still hasn't decided whether to conduct an operation, but he is preparing his forces for the possibility, which the Kremlin completely rejects. The Washington Post obtained an unclassified U.S. intelligence assessment last week suggesting that a large-scale offensive could include 175,000 Russian troops, including reservists deployed by the Russian armed forces.
According to analysts, the Russian army is already close to the Ukraine border with 70,000 troops. There are probably a significant number of those forces on permanent duty at military facilities near Russia’s western border and in Crimea, which Russia has annexed from Ukraine.