There are currently no indications that Russia is assembling aircraft for a possible larger air strike, said today American Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin after meeting with his allied defense ministers Ukrainian in Brussels.

“As for whether Russia is gathering its aircraft for a massive air strike, we are not seeing this right now,” Austin said.

“We know that Russia has a significant number of aircraft in service (…) That is why we stressed that we must do everything possible to ensure that Ukraine receives as many air defense capabilities as possible,” he added.

In the “critical phase” of the war in the spring

It is noted that in recent months, the development of events on the Eastern Ukrainian front has slowed down, and neither side has won. Biden administration officials believe that the war will enter a “critical phase” in the spring, when a new Russian attack is expected and, as a result, a counterattack by the Ukrainian side in an attempt to regain lost territories.

The Americans have already shared with the Ukrainian side their assessments of the criticality of the coming months. At the same time, Biden and his staff want to signal to Vladimir Putin that the West’s resolve to support Ukraine remains unwavering.

Some analysts, however, warn that neither Russia nor Ukraine is likely to gain a significant military advantage in the near future.

^{According to APE – MEB, Reuters}