“Rapid Reaction Force”
London: Russia relies on paratroopers
01/12/2023 11:17 am
Bloody fighting between Ukrainian and Russian units continues in Donbass. The main focus is on Kreminna and Soledar. As the British secret services are observing, Moscow is once again deploying “relatively elite” parachute troops.
After months of deployment as ground troops, Russia wants to use its airborne units in Ukraine again as an elite force, according to British estimates. Commanders are believed to be trying to deploy the paratroopers in Donbass in the east and south “more in line with their proper role as a relatively elite rapid reaction force,” the UK Defense Ministry said in its daily intelligence update.
Since the beginning of the year, parts of the 76th Guards Air Assault Division have obviously been deployed near Kreminna, as Russia classifies this section of the front as particularly vulnerable, according to London sources. Fierce fighting has recently taken place near the city in the Luhansk region, where Ukrainian troops are attacking, and around Soledar in the Donetsk region, where Russian units are advancing.
And according to information from Moscow and Kyiv, the bloody fighting for Soledar continues unabated. “More than 100 Russians were sent to hell at once in the Soledar region,” the Ukrainian military command said in Kyiv this morning. The Ukrainian armed forces killed more than 100 Russian fighters and destroyed their equipment thanks to coordinated work with artillery and missile troops, it said. The information cannot be independently verified.
Ukraine had previously denied Russian claims that Soledar had already been taken. The Kremlin in Moscow had spoken of “positive dynamics” but said it would wait for official confirmation that Soledar would be taken.
Since the beginning of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine at the end of February, the British Ministry of Defense has published daily information on the course of the war, citing intelligence information. In doing so, the British government wants to both counter the Russian portrayal and keep allies in line. Moscow accuses London of a disinformation campaign.