03 February 2023 , 06:54
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Russia is planning something major to “gain the world’s attention” on the first anniversary of the war with Ukraine, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
It is believed that Vladimir Putin is looking to double-down on the invasion by throwing as many as 500,000 new conscripts into the battle.
And this coincides with the anniversary of when Russian tanks first rolled into Ukraine on February 24 last year.
It appears as though Putin's plan is to overshadow events in the West to show support for Ukraine a year into the war, with Lavrov saying Russia "will do everything" to grab the attention.
At the same time Russia has made veiled nuclear threats to the West over the way it has been providing military armaments for Ukraine.
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Putin is believed to be planning a new offensive in Ukraine (SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images)“Our diplomacy will do everything to ensure that the anti-Russian sabbaths planned for the end of February — as if timed to coincide with the anniversary of the special military operation, both in New York and at other sites that the West is now actively working on together with the Kyiv regime — so that this will not turn out to be the only events that will gain the world’s attention,” Lavrov told Russian state TV, reported the New York Post.
Ukrainian defence minister Oleksii Reznikov has responded to the threat of Putin throwing more conscripts into the war by saying they are prepared.
"We do not underestimate our enemy. Officially, they announced 300,000, but when we see the troops at the borders, according to our assessments it is much more," he said.
Meanwhile Putin compared today's fight against Ukraine and its Western allies to Russia's victory against Nazi Germany in World War Two, in a speech marking 80 years since the battle of Stalingrad in Russia.
He criticised Germany's promise to deliver Leopard 2 tanks to support Ukraine on the battlefield, admitting Russia was "once again threatened by German tanks."
But, in his most direct remarks yet he called Germany part of “the aggression of the collective West" which Russia will fight back against.
Putin said they will not send tanks to the border but instead will respond with something more firm — insinuating a nuclear threat.
"We do not send our tanks to their borders but we have something to respond with and the use of armoured vehicles will not end the matter. Everyone should understand this," he said.