New information leaked by Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov during an interview with the French media suggested that Russia has amassed roughly 500,000 soldiers for an assault that could start within weeks. Reznikov also said that he believed the Russians would probably strike in eastern or southern Ukraine rather than in the north as some analysts feared. For months Western intelligence analysts have been warning about a massive Russian offensive slated for early spring. But the decision to send modern battle tanks to Ukraine may have hastened Vladimir Putin’s timeline. Is the west really helping Ukraine as we could have expected ?

