Ukrainian intelligence reports arrival of 200 Russian soldiers in Donbas
Around 200 Russian soldiers have arrived in the separatist-held territory of the Donbas, the press center of the Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Donbas reported on Facebook.
“In order to avoid losing control of the temporarily occupied portion of the Donbas and the illegal armed formations, the Kremlin handlers recently sent several unusual humanitarian loads – roughly two hundred officers,” the post reads.
According to the intelligence, these are most likely representatives of the regular Russian armed groups that have been stationed at the Vostochny training ground near the Manuilivka settlement in separatist-held portion of the Donetsk region.
“Evidently after ‘acclimatization’ they will replace other military criminals, and will remain on a rotational basis in positions in the so-called military units,” the Ukrainian Military command observed.
“It should be added that with Ukraine’s adoption of the law ‘On the characteristics of state policy to ensure the state sovereignty of Ukraine in the temporarily occupied territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions’, the presence of Russian Armed Forces, other military formations and the activity of the Russian occupation administration are recognized as illegal, and violate the norms and principles of international humanitarian law,” the press center added.
Earlier, NSDC (National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine) Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov said that he did not believe it possible that Russians would launch any new attacks against Ukraine before June.
However, Turchynov believes that the threat of a Russian offensive from the annexed Crimea persists to this day.