Despite US warnings, Russia continues to mobilize troops to the Ukrainian border
Russia has continued to deploy more troops near the Ukrainian border in recent days, despite US President Joe Biden urging President Putin to de-escalate tensions during an online summit on December 7.
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| Russian soldiers during the Zapad exercise in September. Photo: Reuters |
CNN, citing sources familiar with the matter, reported that Russian military units have been deployed to the border area recently. The US and Ukraine have also discovered evidence that Moscow has begun to divert commercial rail and air traffic to support military operations.
The latest US intelligence assessment says that more than 50 Russian “tactical battalions” have been deployed around the border with Ukraine, with six more on the way. Each battalion has up to 900 men and is a multi-purpose, mobile combat unit supported by artillery, anti-tank weapons, reconnaissance units, and engineers. Tactical battalions played a leading role in Russia’s military operations in Ukraine in 2014.
The Biden administration is currently looking for ways to prevent a Russian attack on Ukraine, including threatening to impose sanctions. Meanwhile, Russia has demanded security guarantees from the US and NATO, including a commitment from NATO not to expand eastward and not to admit Ukraine. However, Mr. Biden has signaled that the US will not make any concessions on the future of NATO and Ukraine./.
