Desired capture of Donbass: USA: Kremlin stationed thousands of soldiers near Kharkiv

Desired capture of Donbass
USA: Kremlin stationed thousands of soldiers near Kharkiv

The Pentagon warns that the severe troop losses only reduce the effectiveness of the Russian army to a small extent. According to the US government, several tactical battalions are now positioned near the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv with the aim of conquering the Donbass region.

Russian forces have massed thousands of additional troops near the border with the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, according to a senior US Defense Department official. The number of tactical battalions near the Russian city of Belgorod has increased from 30 to 40 now, a senior official said. He did not give an exact number of the additional troops, but such battalions typically consist of around 600 to 1,000 soldiers.

The Russian military is concentrating its forces there to focus its efforts on conquering eastern Ukraine’s Donbass region, he said. The embattled metropolis of Kharkiv is close to the Russian border. Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said on Friday that Russian forces are trying to rebuild their units after losses in northern Ukraine with new material and soldiers on the Donbass border.

The Russian army leadership had announced that it would concentrate on capturing the eastern Ukrainian regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, which are being claimed by the separatists loyal to Moscow. Troops have been withdrawn from Kyiv, and fierce fighting is expected in the Donbass region, Ukraine’s most important industrial area including Luhansk and Donetsk, in the coming weeks.

“Tens of thousands of reservists” could strengthen the army

Kirby warned that, despite their losses, the Russians still had most of their regional strength available for the war. However, the Ukrainians would resolutely fight the Russian aggressors in Donbass. “We want the Ukrainians to win this war,” he said. The US would continue to support Ukraine with arms and other means. Referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kirby said: “We want Mr. Putin and the Russian army to lose this invasion, lose this fight in Ukraine.”

There are also reports that the units that are now to be deployed in the east are to be reinforced by mobilizing “tens of thousands of reservists”. The senior ministry official said there were indications the Russians were hoping to mobilize “more than 60,000 troops”. Because of the conflict in the areas near the Russian border, which has been going on for years, both warring parties are familiar with the geography of the Donbass and are networked there. Very intense fighting is therefore to be expected in the region, the official warned. “It could get very bloody and very ugly,” he said.

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