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Russia is building a new 200,000-man army for a second attack on Kyiv that could begin in weeks, Ukraine’s top general has warned.

Valery Zaluzhny, head of the Ukrainian armed forces, believes Vladimir Putin is turning his newly-mobilised men into armies somewhere deep inside Russia which he will throw into fresh attacks on Ukraine.

When Putin first invaded Ukraine in February, he did so with a force around 175,000 men. If General Zaluzhny is correct, any even larger army is already on its way.  

‘[Russia] is preparing new resources… 100 per cent’, he told The Economist. ‘[We must] prepare for the [new] war which may begin in February, at best in March, and at worst at the end of January. 

Russia is building a new army 200,000-men strong and will use it to try and capture Kyiv a second time (pictured, Putin's original army before he invaded in February)

Russia is building a new army 200,000-men strong and will use it to try and capture Kyiv a second time (pictured, Putin’s original army before he invaded in February)

Russia's original attempt to take the Ukrainian capital ended in failure when its army got bogged down and blown to bits by Ukrainian artillery (pictured)

Russia’s original attempt to take the Ukrainian capital ended in failure when its army got bogged down and blown to bits by Ukrainian artillery (pictured)

‘It may start not in Donbas, but towards Kyiv, from Belarus, I do not rule out the southern direction [Crimea] as well. The Russians are preparing some 200,000 fresh troops. I have no doubt they will have another go at Kyiv.’

General Zaluzhny called on Ukraine’s western allies to increase weapon supplies to stop these attacks from succeeding, saying he urgently needs hundreds of tanks, armoured vehicles and artillery guns.

 ‘I know that I can beat this enemy,’ he said. ‘But I need resources. I need 300 tanks, 600-700 IFVs [infantry fighting vehicles], 500 howitzers. 

‘Then, I think it is completely realistic to [re-take all territory captured since the war began.] I get what I get, but it is less than what I need.’

He stressed that, while Russia’s newly mobilised army will be of a similar size to the one that attacked in February, it will not be of the same quality.

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Much of its best equipment and ammunition has been used up, and most of its highly skilled soldiers and commanders have been killed.

But, General Zaluzhny said, there is no sign that Moscow is ready to give up its mission of seizing his country and he expects his Russian counterparts to keep fighting until their resources are spent.

Ukraine needs tanks, armoured vehicles and artillery guns in order to repel Russia's attacks and push them back, its commander has said (pictured, Ukrainian soldiers carry a body)

Ukraine needs tanks, armoured vehicles and artillery guns in order to repel Russia’s attacks and push them back, its commander has said (pictured, Ukrainian soldiers carry a body)

A Russian soldier is pictured taking part in training as Ukraine's top general warns a new army is being prepared to throw into the fighting

A Russian soldier is pictured taking part in training as Ukraine’s top general warns a new army is being prepared to throw into the fighting

Asked how many men Russia could expend in the fight, he said the country has up to 1.5million men in its reserves. 

As for Ukraine, he insists Kyiv is working on its own ‘big operation’ adding cryptically ‘is on the way, but you don’t see it yet.’

General Zaluzhny also pleaded for better air defences for Ukraine, amid reports that Joe Biden is getting ready to sign over Patriot missile batteries to Kyiv.

If the move goes ahead, it would place Ukraine among an elite group of countries wielding Patriot batteries – which are among the best air defences in the world.

Kyiv is desperately trying to protect its energy network from Russian missile and drone attacks which have caused rolling blackouts across the country, meaning people will freeze in their homes.

Between a third and half of the country’s energy network is now out of action, with the rest now extremely vulnerable to attack.

Putin’s generals switched to attacking the energy network after their ground assault was battled to a halt and then sent into reverse in places. 

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First, the assault on Kyiv from Belarus was foiled and sent packing, before Putin’s armies were stopped in Donbas.

Ukraine then re-took a swathe of territory around the city of Kharkiv, in the north east, and liberated the city of Kherson in the south.

Now, the frontline has largely settled in place with no great shifts expected in at least the next few weeks as both sides regroup and plan their next move.

Despite little territory changing hands, the fighting remains fierce – particularly around the eastern city of Bakhmut.

General Zaluzhny believes 300 tanks, 600 armoured vehicles and 500 artillery guns would allow him to push Russia back to the pre-invasion borders

General Zaluzhny believes 300 tanks, 600 armoured vehicles and 500 artillery guns would allow him to push Russia back to the pre-invasion borders

Russian troops are being thrown into front-on assaults on Ukrainian trenches and machine-gun nests, with heavy casualties on both sides.

General Zaluzhny believes the attacks are designed to fix Ukrainian units in place and bleed them of men, so that they cannot regroup before whatever comes next.

Separately today, Brigadier General Oleksiy Gromov said that Russia is digging in for a long war and still wants to conquer the entirety of Ukraine.

Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar, at the same briefing, warned against allowing complacency to set in after recent Russian military setbacks.

‘The Kremlin … is seeking to turn the conflict into a prolonged armed confrontation,’ Gromov said.

Malyar added: ‘We and the world should not relax, because the ultimate goal of the Russian Federation is to conquer all of Ukraine, and then it can move on.’

Ukrainian officials have portrayed the Kremlin as desperate to reverse recent military setbacks – which included a retreat from the southern city of Kherson after months of occupation – and secure victories to justify the war to the Russian public.

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The Kremlin has never fully defined the goals of its Feb. 24 invasion, which it said was partly intended to protect Russian-speakers in eastern Ukraine.

It said last week that it was still set on securing at least the bulk of the parts of east and south Ukraine that it has declared its own, but appeared to give up on seizing other areas in the west and northeast that Ukraine has recaptured.

Ukraine’s military staff said Moscow’s current main focus was on the eastern cities of Bakhmut and Avdiivka, but that Russian forces were shelling Kherson daily and trying to get a stronger foothold in the southeastern region of Zaporizhzhia.

Vladimir Putin has suffered a series of embarrassing defeats in Ukraine but Kyiv says it sees no sign that he is about to give up attempts to take the country

Vladimir Putin has suffered a series of embarrassing defeats in Ukraine but Kyiv says it sees no sign that he is about to give up attempts to take the country

‘They understand that if they do not stretch the front now, then this winter will be a disaster for them,’ said Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian presidential office.

Russia, which has also been attacking Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, has ruled out a Christmas ceasefire. Gromov also dismissed the possibility of a ceasefire over the festive New Year period.

‘There will be a total ceasefire only when not a single occupier remains on our land,’ he said.

Gromov said Russia had since mid-October been building up its military presence in Belarus, where it was training new units and restoring the combat capability of old units, and had redeployed military aircraft to its ally’s territory.

‘This first of all indicates that the enemy is building up the possibilities of delivering air strikes on the territory of Ukraine,’ he said, but added that the likelihood of a Russian attack from Belarus ‘remains low.’

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