Russia had gathered more than 150,000 soldiers on the border with Ukraine. The US Department of Defense assumes that almost all of them are now deployed in Ukraine.
According to US information, Russia has now moved into the country with almost all the troops planned for the invasion of Ukraine. “Almost 100 percent” of the “combat force” that has been massed on the Ukrainian border in recent weeks is now in Ukraine, US Defense Department spokesman John Kirby said on Monday. According to Western sources, Russia deployed more than 150,000 troops at the borders before beginning its attack on Ukraine.
“He has almost all of them inside,” the Pentagon official said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. He also confirmed a US media report that Russia wants to recruit Syrian fighters for urban fighting in Ukraine. “We know they are trying to recruit Syrians to fight.”
Putin also recruits foreign fighters
Kirby said it was “remarkable” that Putin felt it necessary to rely on foreign fighters despite the large number of Russian soldiers in Ukraine. It is unclear how many fighters Russia wants to recruit or has already recruited. The Wall Street Journal had previously reported on the Russian recruiting campaign.
Kirby said that apart from forays into southern Ukraine, Russian ground forces “haven’t made any real progress to speak of in the past few days.” Accordingly, Moscow is increasingly using bombs and rockets to compensate for the lack of success of the ground troops. “We believe” that the Russian army has “problems with morale, supplies, fuel and food,” Kirby said, again citing “strong Ukrainian resistance”.
Increased bombing raids in Ukraine
However, the increased bombings are having an “increasing impact” on the civilian population, with houses, churches, hospitals and schools being destroyed. “The result is that more civilians are killed and injured,” he said.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin also ordered an additional 500 troops to be sent to Europe, according to Kirby. The soldiers should strengthen NATO’s “deterrence and defense capabilities”.
The US normally has around 67,000 troops stationed permanently in Europe. There are also units that are sent to Europe for several months and then continue to rotate. In recent weeks, the United States has stationed almost 15,000 additional troops in the eastern NATO countries. Also, the rotation intervals of troops in Europe have been increased. This means that there are currently around 100,000 US soldiers in Europe.
More US soldiers in Eastern Europe
A total of 2,500 US soldiers were stationed in the three Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, 10,000 in Poland, 2,400 in Romania, 1,500 in Slovakia, 350 in Bulgaria and 200 in Hungary.
During a visit to US troops in Eastern Europe, US Chief of Staff Mark Milley emphasized the deterrent effect of NATO soldiers. “We need to make sure we react quickly to show our strength and determination and our support for the alliance,” Milley said at an airbase near Constanta in southern Romania. It is about “preventing further aggression by the Russians and a war between the great powers”.
Source: Stern
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