Any suspension of hostilities is an opportunity for Russia to accumulate forces and resume its combat capabilities, deputy head of the Main Intelligence Agency of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Vadym Skibitsky said.

As part of a discussion program organized by the Deciding Your Tomorrow project of the Victor Pinchuk Foundation in Davos, Skibitsky said this had already been observed in 2015-2016, when hostilities were suspended in the occupied territories of Luhansk and Donetsk regions, and Russia carried out a new full-scale aggression in 2022.

"Our assessment is that military operations at the tactical level will continue. No one is talking about a blind defense now, much less a ceasefire. Since Russia will use any ceasefire to improve its tactical positions, and accordingly, gain greater opportunities for resumption or opening new directions for combat operations. Despite the weather, the winter, you know that the territory there is very difficult for military operations – military operations will continue. We simply cannot allow us to lose our territories through our inactivity," the agency's deputy head said.