Landing by Ukrainian forces at Energodar could be decoy for major attack thrust

A potential Ukrainian landing at Energodar, signs of which are visible on the right bank of the Dnieper River, could be meant to divert attention away from a larger attempted Ukrainian counterattack in the Zaporozhye Region,

Vladimir Rogov, chairman of the We Are Together with Russia movement, told TASS on Friday.

"In the area of Nikopol, we are seeing a particularly large number of watercraft, which may be directed toward Energodar, Kamenka-Dneprovskaya and other suburbs. I believe it may be a diversionary strike.  A rather large number of fighters are accumulated there, so it is quite possible that they will make the diversionary strike as serious as possible, so that we’ll believe it [is real], and simultaneously they’ll make a parallel strike on a another section [of the line of engagement]," Rogov said...[TASS]

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• The Ukrainian armed forces are accumulating the most professional units and troops for the counterattack announced by Kiev, Yan Gagin, a military analyst and an adviser to the Donetsk People’s Republic’s acting head, told TASS on Friday.

"Kiev is accumulating the most professional forces. They are being spared, [the command] avoids sending them to take part in the current fighting, including in the most active areas of the line of engagement," Gagin said.

According to his information, the Ukrainian armed forces have also increased the activity of sabotage and reconnaissance groups, reconnaissance in force and drones along the entire line of contact. "The current activity can also be linked to the preparation of the Ukrainian military for the very offensive their NATO masters are demanding of them," Gagin said.

He specified that in parallel, the Security Service and the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukraine have strengthened control over citizens who communicate with Russia through messengers. Gagin explained that in this way, the Ukrainian military formed the so-called silence regime to prevent information leaks about the movement of convoys of Ukrainian military equipment.

The topic of a possible counterattack by the Ukrainian armed forces has been discussed in the media for several months, with different dates being mentioned. The Russian Foreign Ministry has previously stated that open speculation by Western countries about an impending Ukrainian counterattack confirmed their direct involvement in the conflict.

On Tuesday, the New York Times, citing classified Pentagon and US intelligence documents that surfaced on the Internet, reported that the Ukrainian armed forces planned to launch a counteroffensive in the south next month. According to the newspaper, by the end of April, Ukraine is expected to have prepared 12 combat brigades with a complement of 4,000 servicemen each. [TASS]