Kyiv: Russia deploys 25th Army to eastern Ukraine earlier than planned due to personnel shortage
Russia has deployed the 25th Army in the eastern direction, which was initially planned to be withdrawn from reserve during the winter period, said Ilya Yevlash, the Chief Press Officer of Ukraine’s Eastern Group of Troops.
"This army consists of 12,000 servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces. This army has been newly formed, assembled over the past year from various units – including mobilized troops and former members of units previously destroyed by a powerful strike of the Ukrainian Forces in the Eastern direction. It has already been deployed along the line of contact on the Lyman-Kupyansk direction," Yevlash said.
According to him, the 25th Army of the Russian Federation consists of motorized infantry units, artillery, and tank troops, however, it is predominantly equipped with outdated equipment. "There are problems in this unit, they are being supplied with weapons that have been removed from storage and hastily put into minimal combat readiness," the spokesperson said.
He added that the effectiveness of these units remains low.
"Even from the intercepted phone calls, we have noticed that soldiers who have already experienced the might of the Ukrainian Armed Forces say they wish for better training, as they are under fire and have problems with equipment and personnel," Yevlash said.
Yevlash noted that Russian soldiers mobilized over a year ago are refusing to fight, so the Russian command is seeking new solutions and deploying new structural units to this sector. Russia is trying to compensate for losses by moving these reserves.
"I want to emphasize that Russia continues to mobilize these strategic reserves, which indicates a lack of personnel, as tactical reserves have already been exhausted. Furthermore, this army was planned to be deployed in the winter period, but due to a shortage of personnel, they are already being deployed," the Yevlash explained.