Ukraine expands its defense forces in Sumy and Kharkiv.
In the direction of Sumy and Kharkiv, brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been replaced by territorial defense forces.
According to RIA Novosti on August 23, Russian security agencies said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are deploying territorial defense forces towards Sumy and Kharkiv due to heavy losses there.
"The defensive nature of the situation was confirmed by the withdrawal of the 47th Independent Mechanized Brigade from this direction due to heavy losses. Units of the 103rd Independent Territorial Defense Brigade will replace them," a spokesperson for the Russian security agency said, referring to the situation in Sumy province.
Ukraine is replacing the units withdrawn from two brigades in the Kharkiv direction with the same forces. According to this official, the 47th Independent Mechanized Brigade, considered an "elite force," has also been withdrawn to the rear.
"The absence of units from the 92nd Independent Assault Brigade and the 82nd Independent Air Assault Brigade from the combat line has been noted. Their positions have been taken over by territorial defense," a source from the agency said.
According to sources, the territorial defense forces are poorly equipped with electronic warfare systems, drones, and vehicles.
According to the latest data from the Russian Ministry of Defense, in the past week, in the area under the control of the "North" forces group, the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost more than 1,120 servicemen. Ukraine also lost three tanks, 23 armored fighting vehicles, and 74 cars.
Meanwhile, regarding the resolution of the conflict, former Ukrainian Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov stated on Telegram that, without official recognition of Kyiv's loss of Donbass, this could lead to a recurrence in the future.
“This wording, ‘I recognize it in practice, but I don’t recognize it legally,’ worries many people. Why? Because it’s the source of future conflicts. The leadership is changing, and a new leadership will emerge. They will say: ‘Firstly, Mr. Zelensky was illegal when he signed the agreements, and secondly, what does it mean for him to recognize them in practice? But we don’t recognize them either in practice or legally.’ And the conflict will start all over again,” the former Ukrainian Prime Minister noted.
