Military expert Oleg Zhdanov highlighted the political aspect of a possible Russian offensive on February 24. According to him, much will depend on China and the peace plan, which will be made public by Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
Zhdanov said this on his YouTube channel.
He recalled that on February 24, the Chinese leader should announce his peace plan to resolve Russia's war against Ukraine.
“In China, the day comes much earlier than in Moscow. If the People's Republic of China publishes a plan in the morning, and after that, Putin moves the air armada against Ukraine, I don’t think Putin is such a brave guy to spit so openly in the face of the Chinese leader. He is ready to coordinate all issues with him so that China will support him. So, I don’t think that Putin is ready to make actions that can boomerang,†Zhdanov said.
He also stressed that the head of the Kremlin's address to the Federal Assembly is ahead.
"We'll see what February 22 will bring us. If this is again a zilch speech, then I don't think we should expect anything powerful militarily on February 24," the expert noted.
Regarding a large-scale Russian attack on Ukraine, Zhdanov did not give a specific forecast.
“I don’t expect Russia to prepare something extraordinary for us today. Even a massive missile strike, which they may be preparing for February 24, will not surprise us. We are ready. We withstood strikes and 100 missiles each. Today, collecting 100 missiles for Russia is the biggest problem," he added.
The expert touched upon the topic of Russian aviation that has accumulated on the border with Ukraine, and also explained whether it is worth shooting down the air defense balloons that the Russian Federation has been launching lately.
“We have enough air defense to shoot it down. Also, our operators already have the skills to distinguish and how to let Russian balloons through. "up to the rifle, on these balls. Air defense will not respond to them. All attention will be on missiles and aircraft, if any appear in our airspace," the expert noted.
