The United States believes that Russia is ready to attack Ukraine with half of its ground forces. Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland announced this to the Congress, RIA Novosti reports.
According to her, Moscow plans to involve “about 100 battalion tactical groups, or practically all combat-ready ground troops west of the Urals,” in the military operation. She also added that Russia's military and intelligence services “continue to develop the potential for decisive action against Ukraine in the event of an order, potentially in early 2022.”
On December 4, US intelligence “discovered” that Russia was planning an invasion of Ukraine and mapped the proposed offensive on multiple fronts. Intelligence officials said that Moscow plans to involve 100 battalion tactical groups of up to 175,000 servicemen in the offensive. At the same time, the Western term “battalion tactical group” is absent in the combat regulations of the Russian Armed Forces, instead the definition of “reinforced battalion” is used.
The Kremlin denied this information. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the reports of an allegedly impending Russian invasion of Ukraine an information campaign, the purpose of which is to present Moscow as a threat to the settlement process in Ukraine.
