On the battlefield everything has slowed down. For weeks, neither the Ukrainian army advances nor the Russian retreats. Nor is it the other way around. The fighting is concentrated in small towns in the east, such as Soledar, Bakhmut or Klishchiivkawhere neither of the two armies has yet managed to win a clear victory.
Far from the front line, instead, the pieces of one side and the other move at dizzying speeds. Both are preparing for an escalation in the conflict in the spring, when the Kremlin is expected to launch a full-scale counteroffensive.
In recent days, the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelensky, has increased the tone of its pleas and has called on its Western allies to “speed up” the shipment of arms and also to supply heavy tanks. More than 50 countries have listened to him and this same Friday they met at the Ramstein military base (Germany) to coordinate delivery.
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Despite Germany’s refusal to give the green light to sending Leopard 2s, sophisticated main battle tanks that could escalate the conflict to a higher level, most NATO partners have announced the supply of valuable new care packages. Behind closed doors, Zelensky has even met with William Burnsdirector of the CIA, to plan the next military steps.
Vladimir Putin, for his part, has made several momentous decisions that suggest two things: that he is regrouping and rearming his army to launch a big attack in a few months and if he hasn’t already panicked, he’s on his way to it.
This is suggested by the videos and images that dozens of Moscow residents have begun to share this Friday on social networks and in which you can see how install Pantsir-S1 air defense missile systems in some buildings in the city, including the Ministry of Defense.
Residents of Moscow are becoming concerned that Pantsir-S1 air defense missile systems are being positioned atop some of the city’s buildings.
Authorities are yet to announce a reason why.#Russia #Moscow #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/ehbVzkvMlH
— Danny Armstrong (@DannyWArmstrong) January 20, 2023
Some of these recordings show how a crane place an alleged Pantsir-S1 under the supervision of several military trucks. For the moment, the Kremlin is silent, but the spokesman for the Russian Presidency, Dmitri Peskov, has assured that “the Ministry of Defense is responsible for guaranteeing the security of the country as a whole and of the capital in particular.”
The problem is that Moscow is almost 700 kilometers from the front line. Hence, placing a system of this type, designed, among other things, to protect against drones, makes the population fear a future attack.
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Ukraine currently does not have such long-range missiles, as the ATACMS have a radius of action of 300 kilometers. However, what the Russian government may fear is an attack from within its own borders. In fact, internal “saboteurs” have been blamed for some incidents that have occurred in Russia in recent months, such as the impact of a Russian warplane on a residential building in the city of Yeisk.
