UK intelligence sources: Putin to order full-scale Aleppo assault this week

According to unnamed British intelligence sources, Vladimir Putin plans to use the election turmoil in Washington as a distraction to this week launch a full-scale assault on the rebels holding eastern Aleppo and secure a victory by mid-January. The same sources point to the Russian aircraft carrier on its way to the Mediterranean and the sighting of three Russian submarines passing through the Irish Sea. This report is unconfirmed from any other source and is awarded low credibility by DEBKAfile’s military sources.