Russia has deployed more than 420,000 troops to occupied areas in eastern and southern Ukraine, a Ukrainian military intelligence general said on Saturday. “The Russian Federation has concentrated more than 420,000 troops in our temporarily occupied territories including Crimea,” Vadym Skibitsky, deputy head of intelligence at Ukraine’s Defense Ministry, told a conference. This figure “does not include the Russian National Guard and other special structures responsible for maintaining the occupying power in our territories”, added Vadym Skibitsky.
“Drones deployed in Crimea are used against our ports of Izmail and Reni” through which Ukrainian grain was transported via the Black Sea until Moscow left an international agreement in July, detailed the official.
The Russian army continues to have the advantage over the Ukrainian in terms of weapons, against the backdrop of the slow Ukrainian counter-offensive, underway since June, she admitted. “We must recognize that the enemy is strong, has more men and more weapons,” said Ganna Maliar. Last week alone, the Russian army fired “nearly 400,000 shells” at Ukrainian positions on the eastern front, when “we can use eight times less” ammunition, she claimed.
