Ukrainian defenders in besieged Mariupol are seizing a “significant” amount of Russian troops and equipment that will soon be needed elsewhere, the British intelligence service said on Thursday.
Russian forces are preparing for a new offensive in the eastern Donbass region of Ukraine, the UK Department of Defense wrote on Twitter, and will need a large number of troops to do so.
However, President Vladimir Putin’s troops may be curtailed by the ongoing campaign to occupy Mariupol, which remains under Ukrainian control despite constant bombardment by Russian forces.
The strategic southern port city has been under siege for weeks by the Russian military, which has launched a devastating bombing campaign against the city. Russia has targeted civilian areas, including schools, shelters, theaters and hospitals.
Earlier this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said “tens of thousands” of Ukrainian civilians could be killed in Mariupol.
Western and NATO officials said Russian troops had been relocated far from the north of the country to focus on Donbass after failing to occupy the capital, Kyiv.
The British intelligence service said Russia was trying to mobilize its forces before the attack and using “broad” bombing tactics, adding that the forthcoming military campaign would require “significant levels of force”.
Satellite images and videos show Russian forces and military escorts heading to the area.
“It could be a major war in Donbass – as people have not seen in hundreds of years,” Zelensky warned.
Ukraine has warned locals to flee ahead of the attack. Last week, dozens were killed in a Russian rocket attack on a railway station in Kramatorsk as civilians tried to flee the area.
