Name: Ukraine's military chief says Russian spring offensive has begun | BBC News
Uploaded: 2025-04-12T09:45:15.000Z
Duration: 4 min 47 s
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The commander of Ukraine's armed forces says that Russia has begun a spring offensive in the northeast.

Alexander Sirsky's comments came as President Zelensky told reporters that Russia was preparing for a new push in the Harkiv and Sumi regions.

Well, earlier the Russian army said it had captured the village of Zhuravka, just inside the Ukrainian border in the Sumi region.

And Keve has said it is carrying out offensive operations.

in Russia's Belgrad Oblast in order to try and disrupt Russia's offensive, all of this is happening is around 30 defense ministers are meeting in Brussels to continue efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

The gathering was convened by Britain and France, two nations who've said that they'd contribute to any peacekeeping force in the event of a truce.

The UK Defense Secretary John Healey opened that meeting.

That peace is possible and we must be ready for when that peace comes.

That's why the work of this coalition is so vital.

We're stepping up, we're serious, we're sending a signal to President Putin and to Minister Umarov and the Ukrainian people.

We stand with you in the fight and we will stand with you in the peace.

Well, our Ukraine correspondent James Waterhouse outlined what Ukrainian officials are saying about a new Russian offensive.

Well, there is concern that Russia is thought to be gathering tens of thousands of troops in its western Kursk region, uh, where it is thought that they may well with the arrival of spring, although you wouldn't know it at the moment, uh, when the ground hardens that Russia will look to capitalize on these improved conditions and mount another major offensive in Eastern and Northeastern Ukraine.

As of now, these troops are simply gathering, but according to Ukraine's head of the armed forces, Alexander Sirsky, Russia has already started its spring offensives.

He is seeing an increased number of assaults right across the eastern and some southern parts of the front line.

And if you're Ukraine, this is what you are trying to point out to America that whilst Washington continues to try and spearhead these peace efforts, these negotiations, Ukraine is going to point to this continued flurry of military activity by Russia as it looks to pursue its objective, which Keve says has not changed, which is taking of as much of Ukraine as possible.

Now, Russia and the US have again swapped prisoners.

Ksenia Carolina, a Russian-American dancer who was jailed by a Moscow court for donating to a Ukrainian charity, is on her way back to the US.

In return, the Americans have released a Russian-German national, Arthur Petrov, the prisoner swap took place in Abu Dhabi early on Thursday.

Our Russia editor Steve Rosenberg has this update.

This prisoner swap, um, uh, two people are involved.

So the Russians have released Ksenia Carolina, who is a Russia US dual national, um, she's a resident of Los Angeles, um, an amateur ballerina.

Last year she came back to Russia to visit family.

She was arrested, uh, she was convicted of treason, uh, her crime being that she donated around $50 to a US-based charity that supports Ukraine.

And she was sentenced to 12 years in a penal colony.

So she's been freed, the Russians have freed, uh, a Russian-German dual national, Arthur Petrov, uh, he was arrested on Cyprus in 2023 at the request of the Americans.

he was accused of conspiring to ship, um, uh, sensitive US microelectronics, uh, to Russia.

So he's been freed, uh, by the Americans, um, and, um, I think this adds to the the the the desire by both Moscow and Washington to kind of boost relations, improve the atmosphere between Russia and America.