Russia Again Begins to Build up Troops near Ukrainian Border

The Russian military is once again beginning to deploy and accumulate troops and equipment near the Ukrainian border, according to The Washington Post.

A renewed buildup of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border has raised concern among some officials in the United States and Europe who are tracking what they consider “irregular movements” of equipment and personnel on Russia’s western flank.

Videos have surfaced on social media in recent days showing Russian military trains and convoys moving large quantities of military hardware, including tanks and missiles, in southern and western Russia.

“The point is: It is not a drill. It doesn’t appear to be a training exercise. Something is happening. What is it?” said Michael Kofman, director of the Russia studies program at the Virginia-based nonprofit analysis group CNA.

According to him, satellite imagery appears to show that Russia’s 1st Guards Tank Army, an elite unit based outside Moscow, is moving personnel and materiel toward Ukraine.

Kofman also reminded that forces from Russia’s 41st Combined Arms Army, normally based in Novosibirsk, didn’t return to their place of permanent deployment, and instead linked up with other Russian forces near the Ukrainian border.

As a reminder, the United States has recently called on its allies and partners to lift restrictions on armed support for Ukraine and to supply it with lethal weapons. The Pentagon believes that Ukraine should be able to purchase equipment necessary for its own defence. At the same time, the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine confirmed the information that in the near future the Armed Forces of Ukraine may receive the latest British Brimstone Sea Spear missiles.

Bohdan Marusyak