Ukrainian general: Russia will send 200,000 troops to special operation zone

Russia is preparing to deploy hundreds of thousands of troops into the zone of the special operation in the coming weeks, former Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Lieutenant General Igor Romanenko said.

According to the officer, this is the strategic reserve of the Russian army that numbers about 200,000 people.

According to military logic, the forces will be used to strengthen the group in the east and attempt to complete the task of capturing the Donbass, the general believes.

All reservists will be deployed on the battlefield in March, Romanenko also said.

Meanwhile, the head of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine's Defence Ministry, Kirill Budanov, believes that decisive battles with the Russian troops may take place from mid to late spring.

"Yes, it [will be] a turning point,” Budanov said. According to him, the Russian troops have already launched a major offensive.