I doubt Russian army will fulfill Putin's order to seize Donetsk and Luhansk regions — Colonel Cherevatyi

Colonel Serhiy Cherevaty made the statement at the Military Media Center.

Commenting on Putin's order to attack eastern Ukraine by March, Cherevatyi said that the Russian army is constantly trying to seize new territories.

"But the Ukrainian nation is united in repelling aggression. Cohesion, professionalism of the Ukrainian military plus high-quality Western equipment are the key to our victory," the spokesman said.

Cherevatyi stated that the Russian Federation likes to coincide their actions to important dates, "so we cannot rule out that they will try to do it" on the anniversary of the February 24 invasion.

"But what will they use and how will they do it? That's why I have great doubts that they will be able to do it now, being in constant fighting," the spokesman added.

The spokesman also recalled that in February 2022, Russia launched an offensive with its best military units, but "the Ukrainian army defeated them all."

Earlier today, the Main Intelligence Directorate said that Russian leader Vladimir Putin ordered to capture the entire Donetsk and Luhansk regions by March. 

• Earlier, Bloomberg wrote that despite the losses of the Russian army in the war against Ukraine, Russian leader Vladimir Putin is planning a new offensive that could begin in February or March.
• Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksiy Danilov said that Russia was preparing for a new wave of offensive in Ukraine by February 24 and its military were reconnoitering Ukraine's defense capabilities. Later, he emphasized that the Ukrainian government understood the threat of a repeat offensive by Russian troops on Ukrainian territory and was preparing vigorously.
• On February 1, the NSDC Secretary stated that "Russia is preparing for the maximum escalation of the war, and no scenario can be ruled out in the next 2 to 3 weeks."