Ukrainians expect Russia to launch a fresh offensive to strengthen its negotiating position

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces are preparing to launch a fresh military offensive in the coming weeks to maximize pressure on Ukraine and strengthen the Kremlin's negotiating position in ceasefire talks, Ukrainian government and military analysts said.

The move could give Russian President Vladimir Putin every reason to delay discussions about pausing the fighting in favor of seeking more land, the Ukrainian officials said this week, renewing their country's repeated arguments that Russia has no intention of engaging in meaningful dialogue to end the war.

With the spring fighting season drawing near, the Kremlin is eyeing a multi-pronged push across the 1,000-kilometer (621-mile) front line, according to the analysts and military commanders.

Citing intelligence reports, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia is getting ready for new offensives in the northeast in the Sumy, Kharkiv and Zaporizizhia regions.

“They’re dragging out the talks and trying to get the U.S. stuck in endless and pointless discussions about fake ‘conditions’ just to buy time and then try to grab more land,” Zelenskyy said Thursday in a visit to Paris.

Two G7 diplomatic officials in Kyiv agreed with that assessment. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the press.

Russia has effectively rejected a U.S. proposal for an immediate and full 30-day halt in the fighting, and the feasibility of a partial ceasefire on the Black Sea was thrown into doubt after Kremlin negotiators imposed far-reaching conditions.

Four people died and 24 were injured Friday evening after Russian drones struck Dnipro in the country's east, according to regional Gov. Serhii Lysak and Ukraine's emergency service. At least eight more people were injured when a Russian ballistic missile struck nearby Kryvyi Rih, Zelenskyy's hometown, Gov. Lysak reported.

Battlefield success is clearly in Putin's mind.

“On the entire front line, the strategic initiative is completely in the hands of the Russian armed forces,” Putin said Thursday at a forum in the Arctic port of Murmansk. "Our troops, our guys are moving forward and liberating one territory after another, one settlement after another, every day.”

Ukrainian military commanders said Russia recently stepped up attacks to improve its tactical positions ahead of the expected broader offensive.

“They need time until May, that’s all,” said Ukrainian military analyst Pavlo Narozhnyi, who works with soldiers and learns about intelligence from them.

In the north, Russian and North Korean soldiers have nearly deprived Kyiv of an essential bargaining chip by retaking most of Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian soldiers staged a daring incursion last year. Battles have also escalated along the eastern front in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia.

A concern among some commanders is whether Russia might divert battle-hardened forces from Kursk to other parts of the east.

“It will be hard. The forces from Kursk will come on a high from their wins there," said a Ukrainian battalion commander in the Donetsk region, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe his concerns.

“They are preparing offensive actions on the front that should last from six to nine months, almost all of 2025,” said Ukrainian military analyst Oleksii Hetman, who has connections to the military's general staff.

Russia entered negotiations with a clear advantage in the war. Now, after recapturing 80% of its territory in the Kursk region ahead of talks, its forces have intensified their fighting across other parts of the front line.

“The number of clashes on the front line is not decreasing," Hetman said. "If they wanted to stop the war, their actions certainly don’t show it.”

Russia ramped up reconnaissance missions to find and destroy firing positions, drone systems and other capabilities that could impede a future onslaught, two Ukrainian commanders said.

“These can be all signs that an attack is being prepared in the near future,” Hetman said.

The Russian Defense Ministry on Saturday also claimed that its troops had taken a village in Ukraine’s Sumy region, across the border from Kursk. Zelenskyy earlier named the province as one of the targets for a Russian spring offensive. The Russian claim could not be independently verified, and Ukraine did not comment.

Fighting also intensified in the eastern city of Pokrovsk, one of Ukraine’s main defensive strongholds and a key logistics hub in the Donetsk region. Its capture would bring Russia closer to its stated aim of capturing the entire region.

“The Russians were significantly exhausted over the past two months. During 10 days of March, they took a sort of pause,” military spokesman Maj. Viktor Trehubov said of the situation in Pokrovsk. In mid-March, the attack resumed. “This means the Russians have simply recovered.”

A Ukrainian soldier with the call sign “Italian” said Russia was conducting intensive reconnaissance in his area of responsibility in the Pokrovsk region. Radio intercepts and intelligence show a buildup of forces in the area around Selidove, a city in the Pokrovsk region, and the creation of ammunition reserves, he said.

The buildup includes large armored vehicles, and the many new call signs overheard in radio transmissions suggest that fresh forces are coming in, he said.

Farther south, a military blog run by Mikhail Zvinchuk, a former officer of the Russian Defense Ministry’s press section, noted last week that Russian troops recently unleashed a new offensive west of Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia region.

The offensive will allow Russian forces to move toward the city of Zaporizhzhia and "force the enemy to redeploy its troops from other sectors, leaving Robotyne and Mala Tokmachka badly protected,” the blog known as Rybar said, adding that the new offensive “could be the first step toward the liberation of the Zaporizhzhia region.”

On Friday, Vladyslav Voloshyn, a spokesman for the Southern Defense Forces of Ukraine, said the situation in the region is fraught after Russia amassed more forces to conduct assaults with small groups of infantry.

Russian analysts project optimism that a future offensive will succeed.

“Both sides are actively preparing for the spring-summer campaign,” Sergey Poletaev, a Moscow-based military analyst, wrote in a recent commentary. “There’s a growing sense that the Ukrainian forces may be struggling to prepare for it adequately."

Meanwhile at the negotiating table, Russian demands have curtailed the results of much-anticipated negotiations brokered by the U.S.

Earlier this month, after Russia effectively turned down the U.S. proposal for a complete, monthlong halt in the fighting, Moscow tentatively agreed to a partial ceasefire on Black Sea shipping routes.

But that agreement was quickly cast into doubt by Russia's insistence on far-reaching conditions that its state bank be reconnected to the SWIFT international payment system, something Kyiv and the EU rejected outright.

Along the front line, the reported ups and downs of the talks fuel frustration and worry.

“No one believes in them,” said the Ukrainian soldier known as Italian, who spoke on the condition that he be identified only by his call sign in keeping with military protocol. “But there is still hope that the conflict will move in another direction. Everyone is waiting for some changes in the combat zone because it is not good for us now. We really don’t want to admit that."

Associated Press journalists Volodymyr Yurchuk and Dmytro Zhyhinas contributed to this report.

FILE - Ukrainian servicemen collect damaged ammunition on the road at the front line near Chasiv Yar town, in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Jan. 10, 2025. (Oleg Petrasiuk/Ukraine's 24th Mechanised Brigade via AP, File)

Police officers carry the body of a person killed by a Russian drone strike in a residential neighborhood in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, Friday, March 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Kateryna Klochko)

FILE - In this combination of file photos, President Donald Trump, left, and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, are seen at the Elysee Palace, Dec. 7, 2024 in Paris, and President Vladimir Putin, right, addresses a Technology Forum in Moscow, Russia, Feb. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard, left and center, Pavel Bednyakov, right, File)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, firefighters put out the fire following a Russian attack in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

A worker of DTEK company climbs up stepladder during repair works of a substation destroyed by a Russian drone strike in undisclosed location, Ukraine, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks during a briefing in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

In this photo provided by Ukraine's 93rd Kholodnyi Yar Separate Mechanized Brigade press service, a soldier in a shelter gets ready to fire FPV drones towards Russian positions in a shelter in Kramatorsk direction, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Saturday, March 22, 2025. (Iryna Rybakova/Ukraine's 93rd Mechanized Brigade via AP)

In this photo taken on March 16, 2025 and provided by Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade press service, Ukrainian soldiers fire 120mm mortar towards Russian army positions near Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Sunday, March 16, 2025. (Oleg Petrasiuk/Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade via AP)

A resident watches as his neighbour cleans up the damaged apartment in a multi-storey house after a Russian night drone attack in Kyiv, Ukraine, Sunday, March 23, 2025. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at the plenary session of the International Arctic Forum in Murmansk, Russia, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Gavriil Grigorov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)

In this provided by Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade press service, servicemen of 3rd mechanized battalion, practice on the training ground at an undisclosed location in the east of Ukraine, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (Oleg Petrasiuk/Ukraine's 24th Mechanized Brigade via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP) — New Jersey Democratic Sen. Cory Booker held the Senate floor with a marathon speech that lasted all night and into Tuesday afternoon in a feat of endurance to show Democrats’ objections to President Donald Trump’s sweeping actions.

Booker took to the Senate floor on Monday evening, saying he would remain there as long as he was “physically able.” More than 21 hours later, the 55-year-old senator, a former football tight end, was plainly exhausted but still going. It was a remarkable show of stamina — among the longest in Senate history — as Democrats try to show their frustrated supporters that they are doing everything possible to contest Trump's agenda.

“These are not normal times in our nation," Booker said as he launched into his speech. “And they should not be treated as such in the United States Senate. The threats to the American people and American democracy are grave and urgent, and we all must do more to stand against them.”

Pacing, then at times leaning on his podium, Booker railed for hours against cuts to Social Security offices led by Trump adviser Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. He listed the impacts of Trump's early orders and spoke to concerns that broader cuts to the social safety net could be coming, though Republican lawmakers say the program won't be touched.

Booker also read what he said were letters from constituents, donning and doffing his reading glasses. One writer was alarmed by the Republican president's talk of annexing Greenland and Canada and a “looming constitutional crisis.”

Throughout the day Tuesday, Booker got help from Democratic colleagues, who gave him a break from speaking to ask him a question and praise his performance. Booker yielded for questions but made sure to say he would not give up the floor. He stayed standing to comply with Senate rules.

“Your strength, your fortitude, your clarity has just been nothing short of amazing and all of America is paying attention to what you’re saying,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said as he asked Booker a question on the Senate floor. “All of America needs to know there’s so many problems, the disastrous actions of this administration.”

As Booker stood for hour after hour, he appeared to have nothing more than a couple glasses of water to sustain him. Yet his voice grew strong with emotion as his speech stretched into the afternoon, and House members from the Congressional Black Caucus stood on the edge of the Senate floor to support Booker.

“Moments like this require us to be more creative or more imaginative, or just more persistent and dogged and determined,” Booker said.

On Tuesday afternoon, tens of thousands of people were watching on Booker’s Senate YouTube page, as well as on other live streams.

Democratic aides, as well as Booker's cousin and brother, watched from the chamber's gallery. Sen. Chris Murphy accompanied Booker on the Senate floor throughout the day and night. Murphy was returning the comradeship that Booker had given to him in 2016 when the Connecticut Democrat held the floor for almost 15 hours to argue for gun control legislation.

The record for the longest individual speech belongs to Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, who filibustered for 24 hours and 18 minutes against the Civil Rights Act of 1957, according to the Senate's records. As it rolled past 21 hours, Booker's speech marked the fifth longest in Senate history.

Only one other sitting senator has spoken for longer. In 2013, Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, held the floor for 21 hours and 19 minutes to contest the Affordable Care Act.

Booker repeatedly invoked the civil rights leader Rep. John Lewis of Georgia on Tuesday, arguing that overcoming opponents like Thurmond would require more than just talking.

“You think we got civil rights one day because Strom Thurmond — after filibustering for 24 hours — you think we got civil rights because he came to the floor one day and said, ‘I’ve seen the light,’” Booker said. "No, we got civil rights because people marched for it, sweat for it and John Lewis bled for it."

Booker's speech was not a filibuster, which is a speech meant to halt the advance of a specific piece of legislation. Instead, Booker's performance was a broader critique of Trump's agenda, meant to hold up the Senate's business and draw attention to what Democrats are doing to contest the president. Without a majority in either congressional chamber, Democrats have been almost completely locked out of legislative power but are turning to procedural maneuvers to try to thwart Republicans.

Booker is serving his second term in the Senate. He was an unsuccessful presidential candidate in 2020, when he launched his campaign from the steps of his home in Newark. He dropped out after struggling to gain a foothold in a packed field, falling short of the threshold to meet in a January 2020 debate.

But as Democrats search for a next generation of leadership, frustrated with the old-timers at the top, Booker's speech could cement his status as a leading figure in the party's opposition to Trump.

Even before taking to the national political stage, Booker was considered a rising star in the Democratic Party in New Jersey, serving as mayor of Newark, the state's largest city, from 2006 to 2013.

During college, he played tight end for Stanford University's football team. He became a Rhodes scholar and graduated from Yale Law before starting his career as an attorney for nonprofits.

He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2013 during a special election held after the death of incumbent Democrat Frank Lautenberg. He won his first full term in 2014 and reelection in 2020.

As Democratic colleagues made their way to the Senate chamber to help Booker by asking him questions, he also made heartfelt tributes to his fellow senators, recalling their personal backgrounds and shared experiences in the Senate. Booker also called on Americans to respond not just with resistance to Trump’s actions but with kindness and generosity for those in their communities.

Booker said, “I may be afraid — my voice may shake — but I’m going to speak up more."

Catalini reported from Trenton, N.J.

In this image provided by Senate Television, Sen, Cory Booker, D-N.J. speaks on the Senate floor, Tuesday morning, April 1, 2025. (Senate Television via AP)

In this image provided by Senate Television, Sen, Cory Booker, D-N.J. speaks on the Senate floor, Tuesday morning, April 1, 2025. (Senate Television via AP)

In this image provided by Senate Television, Sen, Cory Booker, D-N.J. speaks on the Senate floor, Tuesday morning, April 1, 2025. (Senate Television via AP)

FILE - Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)

FILE - Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.,, speaks during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the Capitol in Washington, Jan. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis, File)