Russia Moves Large Number Of Troops to South Ukraine – Ukraine’s deputy head of military intelligence, Vadym Skibitsky, revealed over the weekend that Russian forces are moving in large numbers to southern Ukraine where new military offenses are expected to take place. It comes after Russia took control of the northeastern Luhansk region, and the Kremlin seeks to make additional gains in the Donbas and on the Black Sea coast.
Skibitsky said that the movement of Russian troops to the south will also serve to aid troops in newly occupied regions near Crimea.
“They are increasing their troop numbers, preparing for our counteroffensive [in Ukraine’s south] and perhaps preparing to launch an offensive of their own. The south is key for them, above all because of Crimea,” Skibitsky said.
It also falls in line with Russia’s rumored plans to extend its land bridge from the Donbas to Crimea across the southern coast and as far west as the border with Moldova.
In his nightly address on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed reports of Russia’s move southward.
“Now the Russian army is trying to strengthen its positions in the occupied areas of the south of our country, increasing activity in the relevant areas,” the Ukrainian president said, adding that Russia has no strategic chance of winning the war.
Zelenskyy also stressed the importance of maintaining control of his country’s southern regions.
“We have to hold on in the south, in the east and everywhere. We have to hold on in defense, diplomacy and politics. To preserve our unity – and not only until the victory, but also after it, in order to qualitatively restore everything destroyed by the occupiers. I believe that we will do all this,” he said.
Putin In A “Lot Of Trouble”
Despite the new offenses in the south, analysts believe that Russian President Vladimir Putin is desperately trying to hold on to his recently-won gains in Luhansk and could struggle to prevent Ukrainian forces from regaining territory lost over the last five months – including Kherson, which Ukraine believes can be recaptured by September.
Ukrainian forces have also retaken several dozen towns and villages along the border of Kherson, and are making slow and steady gains into the territory.
Professor Anthony Glees told GB News, a British news channel, on Sunday that Russia could be headed toward a “significant defeat” as Ukraine continues to make inroads. Glees noted that as many as 75,000 Russian soldiers have been killed or wounded and that 80% of active Russian soldiers are “bogged now in the east of Ukraine.”
Glees also said that, should the battle of Kherson ultimately end up in Ukraine’s favor, it would prove a significant defeat for the Russians.
That would explain the sudden surge of Russian troops headed southward.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
