Russia might ramp up its offensive in hopes of presenting a victory on May 9, UK intelligence said.- May 9 is a major holiday in Russia that commemorates the defeat of Nazi Germany.
Russia could become more forceful in its attack on
"Russia likely desires to demonstrate significant successes ahead of their annual 9th May Victory Day celebrations," the British Ministry of Defense tweeted in its daily intelligence update on the Russian invasion.
It warned that this could result in an escalation of Russia's attacks.
"This could affect how quickly and forcefully they attempt to conduct operations in the run-up to this date," the statement said.
May 9, otherwise known as Victory Day, is a major holiday in Russia that commemorates the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945. It is usually marked with a huge military parade in front of the Kremlin.
Western intelligence officials previously said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is under pressure to demonstrate he can show a victory on that date after his forces failed to take Ukraine's capital, Kyiv.
Earlier this week, Russian troops launched a new offensive in Ukraine's eastern region of Donbas, in what Ukrainian officials have described as the "second phase of the war," as per Reuters.
According to the UK intelligence briefing, the Russian forces are now advancing towards the administrative city of Kramatorsk, which "continues to suffer from persistent rocket attacks."
The Kremlin has yet to announce its plans for this year's May 9 holiday parade.
The ousted former Russian lawmaker Ilya Ponomarev, who moved to Kyiv in 2016 and is fighting alongside Ukrainian forces, said last week that Putin "will try to claim a certain victory — an imaginary victory — on May 9."
"I am absolutely certain about this, but the reality is that he is losing the war," he told CNN. "I think that the Ukrainian army and the Ukrainian people will not stop before Ukrainian territory will be free."