Putin will “launch a pre-emptive strike against the West in a few weeks” to mark the one-year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine

Vladimir Putin will launch a “preemptive strike” against the West to mark the one-year anniversary of his ruthless invasion, Ukraine has warned.

Satellite photos reportedly show Putin’s troops setting up fortifications as Moscow prepares for a new offensive next month.

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The new Russian fortifications can be seen all along the Luhansk front, from the Russian border down to Donetsk, and throughout Zaporizhia and Kherson.

Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, told Radio Svoboda: “Now they are preparing for maximum activation and believe that by the anniversary they should achieve some successes.

“It’s no secret that they are preparing for a new wave until February 24, as they say themselves.”

Satellite images of Moscow’s new fortifications also show that Putin is worried about a new Ukrainian counter-offensive after news of modern tanks being sent in from the West.

According to reports, the Russian military has also been reconnoitering the defensive capabilities of Ukrainian troops in the Zaporizhia region for the past week.

Brady Africk, an intelligence analyst, told the Daily Beast: “They’re basically trying to consolidate their profits and keep the parts that they’ve been holding on to so far.

“I think it’s definitely a message both to the soldiers in Ukraine and to anyone who might be watching that they will at least try to stay.”

Africk’s claims follow an intense battle between Ukrainian troops and Russian fighters that took place on January 27 in Vugledar, Donetsk’s southern front.

Both sides claimed success in the confrontation.

Denis Pushilin, the Moscow-appointed leader of the Donetsk region, said: “The encirclement and subsequent liberation of this city solves many problems.

“Vugledar could soon become a new, very important success for us.”

However, Kyiv was quick to dismiss the Kremlin’s claims.

Sergiy Cherevaty, a Ukrainian military spokesman, told local media. “There is fierce fighting there.

“For many months, the military of the Russian Federation has been trying to achieve significant successes there.”

Moscow’s push toward Vugledar is part of its effort to seize control of the entire Donetsk region, which it has already declared part of Russia.

The Defense Ministry said Russia most likely suffered more than 300 casualties in a strike on a troop barracks in Makiivka near Donetsk on Jan. 1.

The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that 89 soldiers were killed in the fire blast.

According to an assessment by the White House National Security Council, Russia is using the cold winter months to regroup and prepare for the next steps in the war.

The European Union defense chief said Russia is now embroiled in “a war against NATO and the West” as Canada becomes the 12th country to send tanks to Ukraine.

Stefano Sannino, the secretary-general of the EU’s External Action Service, said Putin had left his initial “military special operation” behind and moved on to a different phase.

Poland also said there will be 60 additional tanks to the 14 it has already deployed to the war effort.

Spain and Norway are expected to announce in the coming days how many Leopard 2 they will send to Ukraine.

Belgium announced a new military aid package, promising cash, missiles, machine guns and armored vehicles.

Ukraine is also looking for Western fourth-generation fighter jets like the US F-16.

Mr Sannino said Ukraine’s allies have been forced to increase and improve their military support to Kyiv in response to Moscow’s shifting the focus of the war west.

He said: “I think that this latest development in terms of armed supplies is just a further development of the situation and the way Russia has started to take the war to a different phase.”

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