The U.K. said Russia has deployed nearly its entire army in Ukraine, increasing pressure along the front line in the east of the country but falling short of a breakthrough.
Ukrainian officials have warned of a renewed Russian onslaught to coincide with the first anniversary of Moscow’s invasion next week. But some Western officials say the offensive is unlikely to be one single event. Russian forces have redoubled attacks along the front lines in eastern Ukraine in recent weeks, eking out gains after a series of reversals last year.
“We now estimate 97% of the whole Russian army is in Ukraine,” Ben Wallace, the U.K. secretary of state for defense, told the British Broadcasting Corp.’s “Today” show on Wednesday.
Russian forces were trying to advance on all fronts, he said, adding: “We haven’t actually seen this massing of a single force to punch through in a big offensive. We’ve just seen an effort to advance, and that has come at a huge cost to the Russian army.”
An expanded version of this report appears at WSJ.com.
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