It has been one year and two months since Russia launched its military invasion of Ukraine. While the Russian military is wary of a counter-offensive on the Ukrainian side, there is a view that President Putin is likely to be unable to prepare for defenses in the areas under his control.
President Putin has been visiting Mariupol, a key city in Donetsk Oblast, which he has been occupying for about a year, and cities controlled by Russia in the southern Kherson region since last month. The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed on the 1rd that it had seized control of two new districts west of the fiercely fought area of Bakhmut.