Putin set to launch 'full scale' assault on Aleppo during US political hiatus

Russian President Vladimir Putin is planning a massive offensive on the opposition-held areas in the Syrian city of Aleppo, while the United States focuses on its presidential election, British daily The Times said on Monday.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russian Putin could launch a huge counterattack in east Aleppo to take the city under full control of regime forces, as early as this week, the report says.

“We think that the Russians are on the brink of a major military assault on Aleppo," an intelligence source told The Times. “There could be significant humanitarian consequences."

“The Russian leader plans to exploit a political hiatus in Washington during the presidential election and its aftermath to secure a decisive victory in the rebel-held east of the city by the middle of January for his ally, President Assad," according to the news.

It said that Western intelligence sources confirmed that they expect a “crescendo of air attacks on Aleppo as part of Russia's strategy to declare victory there."

A Russian flotilla of battleships, led by Moscow's only aircraft carrier, Admiral Kuznetsov, is making its way through the Mediterranean on its way to attack the war-torn city, the sources revealed.

The assault could be launched on November 8, when the U.S. would be busy with the race for the White House and Barack Obama would become a 'lame duck' president.

Meanwhile, it was reported that three Russian submarines have been spotted passing through the Irish Sea on the way to join the assault against the opposition in the Syrian city to support regime forces.

Around 250,000 people are trapped in eastern Aleppo after weeks of heavy aerial bombardment and a months-long siege by Russian, Assad forces and Hezbollah militias.

Fear are growing for a massacre in the city as hundreds of thousands civilians desperate for food, fuel and medical supplies.

In September, Assad forces, aided by Russian-manufactured illegal munitions such as cluster bombs, white phosphorous and 'bunker busters', launched a renewed attack on east Aleppo that has been some of the bloodiest of Syria's almost six-year-long conflict.

The United Nations accused Russia of war crime in Aleppo and called for an immediate ceasefire, while rights agencies urged access of aid supply to the besieged areas.