Russia may be planning a large-scale offensive as early as summer, says Financial Times in an article, Paralel.Az reports.

Its goal would be to capture the remainder of the four regions — Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia. In addition, another attempt at Kharkiv or even Kyiv was not out of the question.

A newly declassified US intelligence assessment reviewed by the FT in December also notes that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ultimate goal in Ukraine of conquering the country and subjugating its people remains unchanged.

The western official says that a strategy of “active defence” — holding defensive lines but probing for weak spots to exploit coupled with long-range air strikes — would allow Ukraine to “build out its forces” this year and prepare for 2025, when a counteroffensive would have a better chance.