Russia forming strike units to fight in Donbas in the winter, Ukraine says

The Russian Armed Forces are forming strike units as part of a “small groups” strategy of fighting in Ukraine’s Donbas region this winter, reported on Nov. 25 Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for the National Security and Defense Council. Russian Special Forces instructors are already involved, he reported, and the necessary technical supplies, bases and resistance points are being established.

Zenon Zawada: It seems as though we can halt the speculation of a Russian-backed offensive beyond the occupied territories until the springtime. As widely noted however, Putin is unpredictable. The reported “small groups” strategy logically fits with Russia’s strategy of dragging out the conflict in Donbas to exhaust Ukrainian resources as part of a war of attrition.