On the eve of February 24 , Russian President

Vladimir Putin

will attack Ukraine with all available means to demonstrate at least some success in the war before the anniversary of the full-scale invasion.

The Ukrainian military and experts warn of the threat of missile attacks, the offensive of the occupying army, sabotage and even a massive air raid.

TSN.ua collected key forecasts and opinions of analysts regarding the "surprises" that Putin may prepare for Ukraine on February 24.

February 24 is a big problem for Putin

The position of the Russian army a year after the start of the full-scale invasion is quite pathetic, and this is a big problem for the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, former US Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst said in an interview

with

TSN.ua.

"We remember not only the goal in this huge war, but also their (Russians - ed.) expectations. They expected a complete victory for several weeks. And he (Putin - ed.) has to somehow explain to his people this miserable result. And we know Russians love anniversaries, they celebrate those anniversaries.

So the first anniversary of his massive offensive is a big political problem for Putin. And he's looking for some way to deal with that anniversary

. We're expecting some kind of Russian offensive around that date, but I don't I expect a real, successful offensive," the expert said.

The threat of a missile attack

The Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine

Oleksiy Danilov

is convinced that the Russian occupiers are planning a new massive missile attack on Ukraine by the anniversary of the full-scale invasion.

"

They are preparing and will try to carry out a massive attack by February 23-24

. We need to be calm about this. We are ready for this... Will it affect the course of the war? No. We will definitely win," Danilov said and advised the Ukrainians keep calm

The Secretary of the National Security Council suggests that the occupiers may adjust their tactics and launch rockets at night, as happened on February 16.

Danilov also predicts that by the anniversary of the full-scale invasion, the occupiers will throw all their might into capturing the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region.

Where to wait for the offensive of the Russian troops

Mykhailo Samus, 

deputy director of the Army, Conversion and Disarmament Research Center,

believes that it is impossible to repeat such a large-scale offensive as it was a year ago.

However, Russia will try to enter the administrative borders of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

"What Russia really wants is to capture Donbass as soon as possible, because Putin has no more time. He cannot wait until February 24, because he needs to speak before the Federal Assembly," said Samus.

The expert reported that

Russia is concentrating large forces in the Bakhmut area, in the Vugledar and Lyman areas

.

"They constantly repeat the same approaches. Either the "leap of the mongoose", then to capture the Donbas, then they have generally idiotic ideas, such as, for example, destroying the energy infrastructure, breaking Ukraine and the West in this way, and then trying to seize the initiative again." , he noted.

Provocations and sabotage are possible

Russia may resort to sabotage in Ukraine or other European countries by February 24, predicts military expert

Petro Chernyk

.

The expert noted that anything can be expected from the Russians:

"They have a powerful intelligence system, in this part they can work.

Some acts of sabotage on our territory or on the territory of Europe may happen

. We also do not reject the missile potential... There will be another missile attack by February 24."

According to Chernyk, the occupiers will not be able to offer anything too special - "perhaps this time they will attack the transport infrastructure instead of the energy infrastructure."

Military expert, reserve major of the Armed Forces

Oleksiy Hetman

believes that if the Russian army had the opportunity to launch a major offensive, it would not have waited until February 24.

However, the occupiers may resort to provocations on the anniversary of the invasion.

According to him, this is completely in the style of Russia - it cannot achieve an advantage on the battlefield, so it switches to missiles.

"The Russians can attack the border regions with S-300 and S-400 missiles, which are not highly accurate and long-range, but there are a lot of them left," Hetman believes.

The military expert also suggests that

Russia may be preparing provocations in Transnistria and on the border with Poland or Lithuania

.

Should we wait for an air attack?

Military expert 

Oleg Zhdanov 

in an interview with TSN.ua

stated that in the coming weeks, Russia may change its tactics in the war and try to launch an air attack on Ukraine.

"Russia is trying to find some non-standard methods. I understand that in the coming weeks we may see a change in tactics. I mean the appearance of these balloons with angled reflectors, the appearance of long-range reconnaissance drones that go deep into our territory. And so far that the information is unverified, but there are data that the Russian Federation is moving aircraft closer to the borders with Ukraine. And perhaps they will try to launch an air attack on Ukraine. Bombing and attack aircraft can take the initiative in terms of ensuring fire damage to our troops," - said a military expert.

At the same time, Zhdanov drew attention to the fact that 

the air defense system works well in Ukraine today

 and its efficiency ratio reaches over 80%.

In turn, Terrodefense fighter and military analyst

Andriy Kovalenko

considers an air attack by the occupiers unlikely.

"The logic is that the enemy will exhaust our air defense system and start flying planes all the way to Kyiv, destroying everything on its way. We should not be afraid of this. There will be no second "Pearl Harbor" performed by our enemy. Even after massive shelling and "Shaheds" raids, air defense is quickly reloaded. On the other hand, we have mobile air defense groups that also work successfully in aviation. Enemy aviation is destroyed, in particular, from "Igla" - and rotorcraft are shot down, and so on," says Kovalenko. 

According to him,

even if the occupiers launch a massive missile attack, launch "Shahedy", exhaust the Ukrainian air defense system and launch their aviation, it will be a one-way flight

:

"They will be able to fly somewhere, but in most cases the planes will be shot down by mobile air defense groups, in particular. The enemy will lose a critical number of their aircraft. This will be their last combat sortie."

@andriykovi89 Should we be afraid of a mass air raid of the enemy before February 24 #війна #українськийтикток #андрийковаленко #24лютого #авиация #зсу ♬ original sound - Andriy Kovalenko

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