US defense official: Nearly half of Russian forces around Ukraine are in attack position
CNN quoted information from a US defense official saying that nearly half of Russian forces around Ukraine are in attack positions.
According to this source, the number of Russian battalion-level combat units has increased to about 120-125 groups. Such a combat unit usually has about 1,000 soldiers.
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| A Russian Army battle tank. Photo: AP |
The official said that the Russian military continues to mobilize forces towards the border and in the past 48 hours, the number of troops in attack positions has reached 40-50%. This official said that Russia has started a campaign to destabilize by accusing Ukraine of "attacking" Donbass, or carrying out "false flag" operations to discredit the Ukrainian people.
Earlier yesterday (February 18), a military vehicle exploded in the city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, near the headquarters of the Donetsk People's Republic. The head of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) Alexey Danilov said that the government did not order the army to "liberate the occupied territories by force" because Kiev was well aware that such an operation would "cause large casualties among civilians". The Ukrainian army would only open fire if they were in danger, Mr. Danilov emphasized. Meanwhile, the advisor to the Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Mr. Anton Gerashchenko, called this "a setup and provocation"./.
