President Putin could mobilise up to half a million extra troops for his war against Ukraine as he seeks to wrestle back the initiative with a multi-pronged spring offensive.
Western allies are being urged to “act now” and send hundreds of tanks and armoured vehicles to Ukraine after Putin appointed a new commander and laid plans to deploy 150,000 reservists who were conscripted in the autumn.
Russia claimed its first victory in months today, as Ukrainian troops began withdrawing from the town of Soledar after a battle that cost thousands of lives. Its fall gives the Russians a greater chance of seizing nearby Bakhmut, which controls access to Kramatorsk and Slovyansk, the last big cities in Ukrainian hands in Donetsk.
#Ukrainian T-72 tank driving right up to a trench with #Russian soldiers, taking them all out.
Cossack-style… This is how #Ukraine won WW2
— Pavel (@FreeCrimeaNow) January 6, 2023
