Russia is looking for a protracted struggle in Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin’s forces are reinforcing their troops in the eastern provinces of Ukraine in preparation “for future offensive operations,” the UK Ministry of Defense said on Saturday.
“Despite President Putin’s assertion on July 7, 2022 that the Russian army” has not even begun “its efforts in Ukraine, many of its reinforcements are ad hoc groups, deployed with obsolete or inadequate equipment,” he says. the statement.
The intelligence assessment took place amid growing reports of Russian soldiers and potential inmates seeking to avoid conflict.
Danila Davydov, a 22-year-old artist from St. Petersburg, said she left Russia shortly after the invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, for fear she might be elected.
“I didn’t want to go to war or prison, so I decided to leave,” Davydo told Reuters from Kazakhstan. “She loves Russia and I miss her so much.”
Lawyers and human rights groups in Russia say cases like Davydo’s are growing and that more and more Russians are looking to avoid war as the Russian army has heavy casualties. Russia last updated its official death toll in Ukraine in late March, when it said 1,351 soldiers had died. Ukraine and Western allies make the toll much higher, potentially more than 10 times that figure.
Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Moscow, Russia, on June 22, 2022. Mikhail Metzel, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP, File Danila Davydov, 22, refused to be recruited for the war against Russia Ukraine. Courtesy Dana Grivtsova / Handout via REUTERS
Military service in Russia is mandatory for 18- to 27-year-olds and the penalty for dodging can include fines and up to two years in prison. Although Putin has insisted that ordinary Russians would not be recruited for the conflict, the country’s Defense Ministry says those recruits have already been summoned.
Russia has launched rounds of missile attack punishments against Ukraine in recent weeks, with bombings that have lasted for hours at a time. The U.S. military estimates that there are currently between 10 and 15 Russian military battalions operating in the eastern Donbass region of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, in England, the government announced a new military program that would train 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers within the United Kingdom.
Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to send more ill-equipped troops to Ukraine, according to the UK Ministry of Defense. The Press Service of the Ministry of Defense of Russia through AP artist Danila Davydov immediately fled Russia after the invasion of Ukraine. Courtesy Dana Grivtsova / Handout via REUTERS
“This new ambitious training program is the next phase of UK support for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in its fight against Russian aggression,” Ben Wallace, the country’s defense secretary, said in a statement. press. “Using the world-class experience of the British army, we will help Ukraine rebuild its forces and increase its resilience while defending its country’s sovereignty and its right to choose its own future.”
In the United States, President Biden said he would offer $ 400 million more in US aid to Ukraine, including four advanced rocket systems that, according to defense officials, will allow Ukraine to strike deeply behind Russian lines in the east of the country. The package also includes 1,000 155-millimeter artillery rounds.
The aid, approved on Friday afternoon, was the 15th military package sent from the United States to Ukraine since last August, the Washington Post reported.
Although Russia’s original war targets have been greatly reduced, they have made great strides in the Donbas and now control much of the region. President Biden has promised to help lead Ukraine to victory.
“I don’t know how it will end, but it will not end with a Russian defeat of Ukraine in Ukraine,” he said last week.
With post cables