Russia preparing for defense in Kherson, Zaporizhzhia regions - military expert Samus

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

"I think that Russia is actually preparing for defense. Not for strategic defense, because Putin will not approve such a plan. I don't know if Russia is preparing to issue an order on preparing for defense, but what is happening in the South is very similar to Russia's preparations for defense. It is obvious that they are trying to create a deeply echeloned defense in the temporarily occupied territories of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions," explained Samus.

The military expert emphasizes that Russia will continue to conduct covert mobilization activities

"Russia will try to increase its mobilization reserves. The mobilized will be trained to fill in these defense plans. And for this, they need a really large number of mobilized people, because the front line is quite large," he added.

• Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russia has lost 185,050 troops, 3,668 tanks and 2,394 drones in the war in Ukraine.

• On April 21, the US Institute for the Study of War reported that Russia plans to maintain checkpoints between it and the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, despite the fact that they slow down the supply of ammunition to the Russian forces.