Estonian intelligence postponed the date of the Russian invasion of Ukraine to the end of February

According to RIA Novosti with reference to the data of the official report of the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service, the authors of the report explained the unreliability of the previous forecast, which spoke of a possible Russian attack on Ukraine on February 16, by “the unpreparedness of the Russian army.”

“According to our assessment, the Russian armed forces can start a full-scale operation against Ukraine from the second half of February. After achieving military readiness, only a political decision will be required to start the operation”, - the news agency quotes the text of the report.

According to the Estonian authorities, the maneuvers of the Russian army on the territory of the Russian Federation do not pose a threat to the Baltic countries and NATO, however, in a number of EU countries they believe that Russia needs "containment".

A day earlier, it became known that the Ministry of Defense completed large-scale military exercises in the Crimea, after which the units of the Southern Military District began to return to their garrisons. At the same time, units of the Southern and Western military districts began to return home, which since February 10 have participated in the Allied Resolve-2022 joint exercises with Belarus.

Shortly before the start of the exercises, the Western media announced the impending Russian attack on Ukraine and even named the date - February 16th. The British tabloid The Sun, citing American intelligence, indicated that the invasion would begin at one in the morning GMT, which corresponds to four in the morning Moscow time.

The message with the exact date and time of the start of the war caused panic among the Ukrainian elite, who began to leave the country en masse on charters and private business jets. After President Zelensky gave the fugitives an ultimatum to return to their homeland within 24 hours, some Rada deputies began to return, and a number of businessmen denied media reports of their flight to the EU.

On the night of February 16, the attention of the world media was focused on Kiev, where Reuters even installed a camera for live broadcasting. After the appointed hour for the "invasion" passed and nothing happened, The Sun newspaper edited an article about Russia's "attack" on Ukraine.

The attention of the world community is riveted to Kiev due to the sharp aggravation of the situation on the Russian-Ukrainian border. The parties accused each other of preparing mutual provocations, while both states are gathering troops to the Donbass region.

According to Ukrainian intelligence, the number of the Russian army on the border with Ukraine exceeds 100 thousand people, which raises suspicions of an impending military aggression on the part of the Russian Federation. Russia also notes the growth of the Ukrainian contingent in the problem area, and also shows dissatisfaction with the facts of arms supplies to Ukraine from NATO.

NATO countries have promised to impose tough sanctions against Russia in the event of its attack on a neighboring state. In response, the Russian authorities denied allegations of preparations for war, pointing out that troops are moving inside the territory of the Russian Federation, to which the state has every right.

Against the background of the aggravation of the internal political situation, Russia and NATO have increased the intensity of military exercises, which also fuels fears that the war will soon start.