Russian forces with 50 tactical combat units are concentrated in four different locations Washington Post, Citing US military document.
Russia said on Friday it was preparing for an offensive against Ukraine, which will involve 175,000 troops early next year. Washington Post, Connects with Kiev’s fear of such an event.
Moscow is preparing to launch “100 battalions and tanks, artillery and other equipment made up of tactical teams of 175,000 men,” a senior US official told the US daily anonymously.
When asked by the AFP, the Pentagon declined to comment on intelligence, but said it was “very concerned about the sources of Russia’s plans for aggression against Ukraine.”
“We continue to support tensions in the region and a diplomatic solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine,” said Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Tony Semelroth.
50 Tactical War Groups
Russian forces with 50 tactical combat units are concentrated in four different locations Washington Post, Citing US military document.
Joe Biden on Friday stepped up pressure on Russia, saying it was preparing “efforts” to defend Ukraine in the event of an invasion following the deployment of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border.
Ukrainian intelligence services estimate that the “most likely period” for the completion of Russian products for “major expansion” is the end of January, the Ukrainian Minister of Justice told parliament.
According to him, about 100,000 Russian troops could take part in the possible attack. “Increase is a viable option, but it is inevitable. Our task is to prevent it,” the minister underlined. He said Russia had already “started military exercises near Ukraine” and was “testing its communications”.
Threat of sanctions
“We are deeply concerned about Russia’s plans for a new occupation of Ukraine,” US Secretary of State Anthony Blingen told his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov on Thursday in Stockholm. The “evidence” of such invasive products is mentioned for the first time.
After threatening painful sanctions on Wednesday, he warned that “if Russia decides to continue on the path of conflict, it will have dire consequences.”
Seven years after Russia annexed Crimea and occupied part of eastern Ukraine by pro-Russian separatist forces, the US president and his Russian envoy Vladimir Putin are set to discuss video tensions around Ukraine via video conference soon.
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