Kyiv: Russia amassing troops along Ukrainian border for possible attack
Russia has deployed near the Ukrainian border three groups of troops that are able of carrying out sudden attack, stated head of the Main Directorate of Military Cooperation and Peacekeeping Operations of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Leonid Golopatyuk, during an online meeting of the OSCE Security Cooperation Forum, Ukrinform reports.
"As of today, three combined groups have already been deployed near the border with Ukraine, which are able of carrying out sudden offensive actions in Ukraine without mobilization and with minimal preparatory measures," Golopatyuk said during the meeting.
The Ukrainian general said that along the border of Ukraine, Russia is actively forming new military units and reorganizing existing military formations in order to increase their combat capabilities.
Currently, 28 battalion-tactical groups are deployed along the border. Three new military formations - two armies and an army corps, "which are expected to achieve full operational readiness" within 2020-2021, are also being established.
The 20th All-Arms Army consisting of the 3rd Motorized Rifle Division and the 144th Motorized Rifle Division has been created in the Western Strategic Direction. At the same time, the 448th Missile Brigade of the 20th Army has been armed with Iskander missile systems.
The 8th Combined Arms (Strike) Army consisting of the 150th Motorized Rifle Division, the 20th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade and operational subordinates of the 1st (Donetsk) and 2nd (Luhansk) army corps have been established in the South-West strategic direction. The Army is expected to include Iskander missile brigades.
According to the general, the total number of the Russian troops along the border of Ukraine is about 87,000 military, up to 1,100 tanks, up to 2,600 armored fighting vehicles, up to 1,100 artillery systems, up to 360 MLRS, 18 operational and tactical missile systems.