Russia Sending Troops, Military Equipment to Ukrainian Border, Raising Spectre of War

[Boats]

Russia Sending Troops, Military Equipment to Ukrainian Border, Raising Spectre of War
By: News & Guts - 11-02-21
Re: https://www.newsandguts.com/russia-s...pectre-of-war/

Russia is moving troops and military equipment to its border with Ukraine, according to a recent report in The Washington Post.

The activity echo's a similar buildup earlier this spring that was thought to be a test of President Joe Biden’s Russia policy.

The Post reports:

The renewed movements of Russian forces in the area come as the Kremlin embraces a harder line on Ukraine. Russian officials from President Vladimir Putin on down have escalated their rhetoric in recent months, attacking Kyiv’s Western ties and even questioning its sovereignty. Putin has warned that any expansion of NATO military infrastructure on Ukrainian territory represents a “red line” for Moscow.

Foreign Policy adds:

Tensions between Russia and NATO have flared in recent weeks after the alliance withdrew the accreditation of eight Russian officials posted to its headquarters in Brussels, accusing them of espionage. In response, Russia closed the alliance’s information office in Moscow and suspended its mission to NATO, which was first opened in the wake of the Cold War as a trust-building exercise.

Russia also rebuked Ukraine last week for using a Turkish-made drone against militant separatists in the Donbass region on October 26th. Russia has supported the separatist movement for nearly 7 and a half years and the drone strike destroyed a Russian-made piece of artillery equipment.

Following the drone strike, there’s been an uptick in combat activity. Bloomberg explains:

There were almost 1,000 violations of the agreement to cease hostilities in Ukraine’s Donetsk region between the evenings of Oct. 29 and Oct. 31, according to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, which monitors the situation under peace accords signed in 2015.

On Monday, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry denied that there was a Russian military buildup on the border, but POLITICO subsequently published satellite images showing a clear uptick in troop and equipment movement.

“The new images taken by Maxar Technologies and shared with POLITICO show a buildup of armored units, tanks and self-propelled artillery along with ground troops massing near the Russian town of Yelnya close to the border of Belarus. The units, which began moving in late September from other areas of Russia where they are normally based, include the elite 1st Guards Tank Army,” reports POLITICO.

The outlet adds:

Meanwhile, a new analysis by Jane’s on Monday reveals that equipment from Russia’s 4th Tank Division has been moved to areas around Bryansk and Kursk close to Ukraine’s northern border. The units are equipped with T-80U main battle tanks and self-propelled artillery.

The Post provides additional context:

Moscow has prompted alarm by amassing large contingents of troops near the Ukrainian border in the past, only to subsequently withdraw those forces and quell fears of a renewed invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials see such moves as a way for Moscow to keep the situation tense and uncertain. Since 2015, when the front lines of the conflict more or less froze in place, the buildups haven’t led to a mass territory-gaining offensive by Russia or the separatist forces it backs.

“We are aware of public reports of unusual Russian military activity near Ukraine but cannot speak to Russian intentions,” said Pentagon spokesperson Lt. Col. Anton Semelroth. “We continue to support de-escalation in the region and a diplomatic resolution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine. As we’ve said, our support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity is unwavering.”

[Boats]

Follow up: Kyiv: Russia has amassed 90,000 troops near Ukrainian borders
By: UAWIRE Org. News - 11-03-21
Re: http://uawire.org/kyiv-russia-has-am...ainian-borders

Russia has amassed near the Ukrainian border and in the Donbas about 90,000 troops, reported the press service of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry.

"According to the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense, at the beginning of November 2021, a group of troops with a total number of about 90 thousand people is deployed near our border and in the temporarily occupied territories," the statement of the Defense Ministry reads.

This includes the troops of the 8th, 20th armies of the Southern and Western military districts, as well as the forces and equipment of the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

“In addition, separate formations and units of the 4th, 6th Army of the Air Force and Air Defense of the Russian Aerospace Forces are stationed near the Ukrainian border. In the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, two army corps of the Russian forces are deployed,” the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry noted that during the second half of 2021, Russia conducted a series of large-scale command and staff exercises near the border of Ukraine.

"Upon completion of this operational and combat training, units and subdivisions of the 41st Army remained in the European part of Russia, in particular, in the vicinity of the village of Yelnya, in the Smolensk region, at a distance of about two hundred and sixty kilometers from the state border with Ukraine," the Ukrainian Defense Ministry said.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry noted that from time-to-time Russia resorts to such military buildups in order to maintain tension in the region and put pressure on neighboring states.

Earlier, the American newspaper the Washington Post reported that Russia is again amassing troops near the border with Ukraine, and this is not an exercise.

Donbas, Ukraine, Russia News