Ukraine has confirmed fears that Russian President Vladimir Putin may be planning a February 24 'anniversary' attack on the country with half a million troops.
Ukraine’s defence minister Oleksii Reznikov has said that Moscow has amassed hundreds of thousands of troops and could “try something” on the one year anniversary of its invasion.
The major new offensive would mark another phase of the ongoing war, and comes after prolonged fears Russia might utilise the anniversary date to renew their efforts to take Ukraine.
The Kremlin shocked the world when, in February last year, it invaded the country and tried to seize Kyiv as apart of what it claimed was a "special military operation".
Any attack would also mark Russia’s Defender of the Fatherland Day on February 23 - which celebrates the army.
Mr Reznikov said the Kremlin has gathered half a million troops for the potential offensive.
In September last year, Putin announced a general mobilisation that bolstered his forces by an estimated 300,000 soldiers.
But Mr Reznikov warned the true figure could be far higher than this. Speaking to the BFM Network in France, he said: "Officially they announced 300,000 but when we see the troops at the borders, according to our assessments it is much more,".
This comes as NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned there had been no indication that Putin had been deterred from his goal of total conquest of Ukraine.
He said: "That they are actively acquiring new weapons, more ammunition, ramping up their own production, but also acquiring more weapons from other authoritarian states like Iran and North Korea.
"And most of all, we have seen no sign that President Putin has changed his overall goal of this invasion - that is to control a neighbour, to control Ukraine. So as long as this is the case, we need to be prepared for the long haul."
The fighting itself has reached something of a stalemate in recent months despite heavy conflict in the Donbas region in the east of Ukraine.
Neither side has made significant territorial advances apart from Russia's seizure of the town of Soledar.
But Mr Reznikov said Ukraine was hoping to "stabilise the front and prepare for a counter offensive."
He added: "I have faith that the year 2023 can be the year of military victory,".
The defence minister was in France to strike a deal to purchase more MG-200 air defence radars which Mr Reznikov said would "significantly increase the capacity of the armed forces to detect air targets, including winged and ballistic missiles, and drones of various types".
Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar said that the infamous Wagner Group were supporting Russian forces in the intense fighting taking part in the Donbas region.
The Mirror recently revealed that the mercenary group were secretly developing "swarm drones" in a shadowy arms deal with Chinese spies.
Putin's forces have been desperately trying to seize the town of Bakhmut, in the region, and Lyman, a former Russian logistics hub that Ukraine took back in October.
On Telegram she wrote: "Russian troops are actively trying to reach the borders of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Our soldiers defend every centimetre of Ukrainian land,".
