Putin is definitely preparing to launch offensive, waiting for US elections - Feygin

He said this in an interview with Anton Borkovskyi, host of the Studio West program on Espreso TV.

"Putin, of course, despite his wait-and-see attitude until the US election period, is definitely preparing and will launch some offensive actions in the east, possibly in the south. It's more difficult in the south, but in the east we can assume," the Russian opposition politician said.

According to him, with regard to the threat of an offensive from the Belarusian direction, Putin will pause. "If you try to get involved in any military action through Belarus again, you will have a problem with Lukashenko, who understands that Ukraine will respond. Ukraine already has the means to reach his residence and kill someone from his entourage. And no one will be light, as they were in February 2022. And the defensive line with Belarus is very strong, because Kyiv is nearby. And everything is mined, so it won't be easy.''

"As for Kharkiv, Sumy or Chernihiv, the question is still open. Could Russia launch an attack on these border cities from the territory of the Russian Federation? Can we expect this? This is an open question. In my opinion, such an operation is more likely than an invasion from Belarus. Because Lukashenko himself will resist such a development to the last, because he understands that it will leave him no chance, he no longer has relations with the West, and it is clear what his relations with the Kremlin are. But there is a kind of unspoken parity with Ukraine: you don't touch us, you don't allow a new Bucha and similar horror that happened, and we still tolerate it all. And Lukashenko is happy with this status quo. And if this situation is moved, then who knows? You can't reach Putin, and it's much easier to reach Lukashenko, that's the point. That's why I think things will be much more complicated there. Even if it happens, Lukashenko will not be asked," Mark Feygin concluded.

• Over the past 24 hours, 103 combat engagements took place at the front. The Ukrainian Defence Forces repelled 33 Russian attacks in the Avdiivka sector and killed 750 Russian servicemen.
• On January 20, the commander of the Tavria operational and strategic group of troops, Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, said that the Russian troops had increased the activity of combat aircraft in the Avdiivka sector.