The Russian Federation continues to withdraw troops to the Ukrainian border in the Kharkiv region. By data Sky News, to date, about 50,000 Russian military personnel are concentrated in the border areas.
It is reported that after the Defense Forces of Ukraine were pushed out of the border parts of the Kursk region, Russia began to actively accumulate personnel near the northeastern border of Ukraine. Analysts note that the likely large-scale offensive advance of the Russians along the front line has been talked about for a long time, but it has not yet acquired a full-scale character.
Russia is estimated to have about four months to attempt to break through Ukrainian defenses before deteriorating weather conditions and dwindling stocks of old Soviet equipment, including tanks, limit its ability to take active action.
One of the Ukrainian officials, on the condition of anonymity, confirmed to the publication that Russian troops are actively concentrating on the other side of the border near Kharkiv. The chief of staff of the 13th operational brigade, Andriy Pomaghaibus, noted that the Russian army is trying to bring its forces closer to the contact line and is probably preparing for active assault operations.
Sky News military analyst Michael Clarke links the concentration of troops to previous Russian operations aimed at ousting Ukrainian forces from the Kursk region. According to him, among the concentrated units may be parts of the airborne troops – one of the most prepared elite units of the Russian army, which were transferred to reinforcements as part of the Kursk campaign.
Clark emphasizes: if these units remain near Kharkiv, this may indicate Russia’s intentions to use them for a new offensive. If they return, for example, to Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, this will mean that a large-scale offensive operation in the Kharkiv direction is not planned. The professor also suggests that Russia may be preparing for a broad offensive on the border territories, in particular near Kharkiv and Sumy.
