"This Is Putin's Last-ditch Effort."
- 3.04.2026, 11:57
The former NATO speaker spoke about the Kremlin's only chance.
According to Ukrainian officials, the Russian offensive has already stopped and Ukrainian forces are now recapturing some territories in Zaporizhzhya and Dnipropetrovsk regions. However, Russia may intensify its operations as early as April and deploy additional mobilized troops.
It is obvious that Vladimir Putin will try to attack, because that is his tactic. This opinion was expressed to "Channel 24" by former NATO spokesman Jamie Shea, explaining that this allows him to avoid and delay negotiations.
Why could a spring offensive be Russia's last?
The Kremlin wants to seize more territory, put the Ukrainian government in a weak, isolated position, destroy industry and energy infrastructure and improve its position. All of this is important for Russia to do before real negotiations begin.
"The Donald Trump administration is now preoccupied with the Middle East and the Europeans. Putin probably thinks there will be no negotiations, so he may use this time to try to gain more territory," the former NATO official added.
But let's not forget that the Ukrainians have made gains in the fighting, especially around Kherson and Zaporozhye. This is good news, but of course the Russians are pressing on Sumy and Kharkiv, so the situation is still difficult.
"Most importantly, though, the Ukrainians have been able to stop any Russian advance very, very quickly. And that implies more drones, more heavy armored vehicles, long-range artillery, more opportunities to strike at Russian supplies, reinforcements, logistics, transportation routes," Jamie Shea noted.
In that case, the cost of the Russian offensive will be very high. And given the increase in their losses - the enemy offensive will end quickly. But Ukrainian positions would have to be fully reinforced and well-defended along the entire front line, depending on where the Russians would be attacked.
"Putin does not have an inexhaustible supply of labor. They pay big money to recruit Nigerians who don't want to fight. This is not a winning tactic in the long run. Russia will start having manpower and financial problems. So in terms of the Russian offensive, this is Putin's last-ditch attempt to accomplish something significant," Jamie Shea observed.
It is imperative that the Ukrainians stop the Russians, because if they can stop this Russian offensive, there will be much less likelihood of such offensives occurring in the future.