The peak of the offensive operation in

may occur in March, when the Russian Federation will redeploy its main forces and raise equipment and weapons.

Military expert Oleg Zhdanov expressed this opinion in an interview with TSN.ua.

"I would have thought that the Russian Federation began its offensive so gradually. This is repeating the same thing that happened in April of last year, when we expected the beginning of the epic battle for Donbas. Here its second stage is starting now. They (the troops of the Russian Federation - Red .) have already started an offensive operation, they are trying to press as much as possible, they are constantly trying to increase their offensive efforts and will continue to increase. Just according to forecasts, the peak of these offensive efforts may occur in March, not earlier, when they will transfer and pull up the main forces and especially equipment and weapons," he said.

Zhdanov also spoke about the number of troops that the Russian government can use in March in the battle for Donbas.

"Plus, in March, as I understand it, Putin will be able to appeal to 120,000 personnel - these are those who were supposed to be released in the spring, but it is unlikely that they will be allowed to go home. And there are another 120,000 - these are personnel who were called up in the fall. They are already 4-5 months in parts and this is considered trained servicemen. They will be forced to sign a contract and will be driven here to increase efforts. There may be such a wave. And in addition, what the military commissars will give - it will simply be to replenish losses, or filling in some rear parts. This is how it could look," said the expert.

Zhdanov noted that now in Donbas, Russian troops are acting according to their usual tactics, trying to seize small areas of the territory in order to advance.

"What are they doing now and how can such actions be explained. They are not able to do anything else. They have taken up their tactics, which they have been using since the first day. They are trying to make encirclement, so-called ticks, only on a small scale, and in this way" they are biting off a piece of territory, trying to move forward. There is no other way for them to succeed and there is no other way they know how," he explained.

According to Zhdanov, there is now a threat of encirclement of Ukrainian troops in Bakhmut.

"If they (the Russians - Ed.) will succeed in their breakthrough, there a little south of Bakhmut, then we will be forced to withdraw in order not to be encircled. And here it does not matter where they go further, they will again look for a weak point in our defense, break through it and try to surround a small area again. And so little by little, they will force us to withdraw with such semi-surroundings. This is the Russian Federation's tactics," the expert noted.

We will remind you that the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that

.

And it gets stronger there constantly, every day.

According to Oleksiy Danilov, Secretary of the National Security Council of Ukraine, 

, which may occur in two to three weeks.

The Russian Federation may try to mount an attack from the north, south and east.

At the same time, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine warned that the 

 period at the front.

Very active fighting is expected in February and March.

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