According to Ukraine’s military intelligence service, Russia has stationed more than 420,000 soldiers in the occupied territories, including Crimea, in an effort to prevent Ukrainian forces from reclaiming territory.
At the Yalta European Strategic Forum, held annually in Kyiv by the Viktor Pinchuk Foundation, Vadym Skibitsky, an official at Ukraine’s Defense Ministry’s Intelligence Directorate, said the number of Russian troops was “strong”. This figure does not include Russia’s special forces, which provide security for the occupation authorities.
Russia unilaterally annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014, and as part of a full-scale military invasion that began in February 2022, it also annexed four oblasts: Donetsk, Lugansk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson. Outside of Crimea, Russia does not have complete control over any region.
Ukrainian army tank
Photographer: Anatolii Stepanov/AFP/Getty Images
Original title:Ukraine Estimates Russia Has 420,000 Troops in Occupied Regions(excerpt)
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2023-09-10 05:47:15
