Tyrannical Vladimir Putin is plotting to build a huge fighting force to outnumber their Ukrainian enemies and overwhelm the east of the war-torn country, it has been claimed.
The Russian leader wants tens of thousands of soldiers in the Donbass region to ensure victory after failing to take capital Kyiv and being driven out of the region.
Experts believe Moscow’s forces are now regrouping but could soon outnumber their Ukrainian counterparts by as many as five to one - which would tip the scales of battle overwhelmingly in their favour, The Times reported.
Images captured by orbiting satellites have shown the build-up of troops and equipment on the border - just as they did in the days leading up to the brutal invasion of Ukraine.
Should Mariupol finally fall to the invaders, as many as six thousand troops could be freed up to join the effort to take the east in the Belgorod and Voronezh regions.
General Sir Richard Barrons, a former British military chief, said : “[The Russians] will try to put more ground forces in the face of the Ukrainians at once to get the force ratios right, knowing the Ukrainians in the east are in very well-prepared positions.
“The Ukrainians are going to need weapons of great range and lethality.”
He added the Russians will try to encircle their enemies, forcing them to leave their well defended positions they have held since fighting began with pro-Russian separatists in Donbas since 2014.
It comes as Britain’s top soldier warned Ukraine and Russia are set for a “stalemate” as they prepare for a major battle in the Donbas.
Chief of the General Staff General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith predicted the looming fight for the key eastern region bordering Russia is expected to be hampered by wet, boggy terrain.
Kremlin forces are “at an operational pause right now as they regroup for a renewed offensive down in the south east”, the head of the Army told the Policy Exchange think tank.
He added: “Whether that proves to be the decisive battle or not - at the moment we are measuring this campaign in days.
“I think we ought to expect to measure it in months if not, in the scheme of things, years.
“Probably at this rate, the most likely, immediate and interim outcome is a military, tactical stalemate in the Donbas with a Russian regime able potentially to claim some measure of success, and that potentially acting as a possible launch point for a subsequent campaign.
“I don’t think the international community and Europe is going to be able to live comfortably with a frozen conflict in Ukraine at all.”
He estimated between 10,000 and 15,000 Russian troops had been killed since war broke out on February 24, with between 20,000 and 30,000 injured.
Meanwhile Putin said the invasion aimed to protect people in parts of eastern Ukraine and to "ensure Russia's own security".
