NEW: Belarus and Russia have begun joint military exercises, adding to fears that Moscow will use its ally to launch a new ground offensive, as it did in February 2022. Ukrainian forces tell NBCNews that they are taking no chances in their preparations.
Standing next to an empty trench, Sr. Lt. Anton knows that he and his men have to be on high alert — the next attack could strike anywhere along front lines stretching thousands of miles.
Passing through the city of Chernihiv, jittery police demanded identification papers from NBC News. More military personnel than civilians appeared to be on the streets. Across the Dnipro river from Belarus, not far from the trenches, Ukrainian forces are taking no chances. Anton pointed to fortifications built by Russian and Belarusian troops on the other side. A few feet away, a soldier stood in a foxhole on the Ukrainian bank of the river, staring at Moscow’s close ally across the water.Russia said it had captured the eastern town onon Friday, its only breakthrough since the summer, although Ukrainian forces say they are still holding the line.
“According to our intelligence estimates, the Russian Federation will create an armed force of two million people,” Skibitsky said, giving no timeframe. Experts such as Frank Ledwidge, a lecturer in military strategy at the University of Portsmouth in Britain and a former military intelligence officer, say Ukrainian predictions of tens of thousands more Russians being thrown into battle should be taken seriously.
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