Almost 90,000 Russian forces now stationed near Ukraine’s border - defense ministry

That’s according to the Ministry’s press service, Ukrinform reports.

"The facts provided by Ukraine’s intelligence agencies are being confirmed during information exchange with our partners on the security situation around Ukraine," the ministry said.

According to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense (the country’s military intelligence) as of early November 2021, a nearly 90,000-strong group of troops (forces) has been amassed near the Ukrainian border and in the territories temporarily occupied by Russia.

These include troops of the 8th and 20th armies of the Southern and Western military districts, as well as forces and means of Russia’s Black Sea fleet. In addition, separate units of the 4th and 6th armies of Russia’s air force and air defense force are based close to the Ukrainian border. Two army corps of the Russian occupation troops have been deployed and now operate in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

In the second half of 2021, Russian Armed Forces Command conducted near the Ukrainian border a series of large-scale command and staff exercises. They involved troops (forces) of the Southern and Western military districts, as well as separate units and subdivisions of the 41st army of the central military district and the air assault troops. After the completion of these operational and combat drills, units and subdivisions of the 41st army remained in the European part of Russia, in particular in the area of ​​Yelnya, Smolensk region, some 260 km from the border with Ukraine.

The Ministry of Defense notes that Russia periodically resorts to practices of moving and amassing forces in order to maintain tension in the region and political pressure on neighboring states.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Politico posted what it reported was satellite images shot earlier, allegedly confirming recent reports that Russia is again amassing forces and military hardware at the border with Ukraine.

Earlier, several sources, including The Washington Post, wrote that in recent weeks, Russia had resumed the movement of hardware and forces to the border with Ukraine.

Citing unnamed sources from among U.S. and European officials, the newspaper claimed the effort was launched after the Kremlin completed a large-scale joint military exercise with Belarus, Zapad 2021, more than a month ago.

According to Ukraine’s military intelligence, as of November 1, no additional movement has been recorded of Russian units, weapons, and military hardware to the state border with Ukraine.

In a comment to Radio Svoboda, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov denied U.S. media reports about the possible amassing of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine, branding reports "deliberate misinformation."

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