"150,000 Russian Troops Near Ukraine Border" ... Increasing Western Estimates

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyunjung] The Western estimates of Russian troops stationed near Ukraine continue to increase, the British BBC reported on the 17th (local time). This contradicts Russia's claim that its troops, having completed training, are withdrawing.

According to the report, the West currently estimates that the Russian military deployed near the Ukrainian border numbers between 130,000 and 150,000. Western authorities analyzed that the Russian troops stationed here increased from 100,000 to 130,000 last week. U.S. President Joe Biden also stated on the 15th that including 30,000 troops participating in joint exercises in Belarus, a total of 150,000 Russian troops are stationed near the Ukrainian border.

Ben Wallace, the UK Secretary of Defense, stated, "60% of Russia's ground forces are in the northern region of Ukraine adjacent to Russia and Belarus."

Ukraine, the party involved in the crisis, reports that 147,000 Russian troops, including air force and naval forces, are at the border.

Near Yelsk in Belarus, short-range Iskander ballistic missile launchers have also been observed, and at an airfield in Luninets, southern Belarus, the latest ground-attack fighter jets such as the Su-25 have been photographed. The Russian Navy has also deployed six large landing ships to the Black Sea, citing Mediterranean exercises.

The West views the gathering of support troops at the Ukrainian border, in addition to combat troops, as a sign of an imminent invasion. Recently, support troops responsible for tank repairs and operating field hospitals for blood supply have been deployed alongside combat troops near the Ukrainian border.

Additionally, besides the Russian regular army, it is estimated that 15,000 pro-Russian separatist rebels are in the Donbas (Donetsk and Luhansk provinces) region in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine believes the size of the pro-Russian separatist forces is even larger than this.

However, on the 15th, Russia announced that it had withdrawn some troops deployed at the border. Meanwhile, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) stated that there is no evidence of tension easing at the border and that Russian forces appear to be continuing to increase.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.