Ukrainian counter-offensive: Russia will probably have to withdraw “from certain areas” in advance
Created: 2022-09-02 04:49
By: Nail Akkoyun
In the Ukraine war, Russia gets into trouble because of a counter-offensive: entire troops have to be transferred from the Donbass to Cherson.
MOSCOW/Kherson - According to John Kirby, spokesman for the US National Security Council, Russia is being forced to withdraw "certain units" from key parts of Ukraine.
Otherwise there would not be enough armed forces to fight the Ukrainian counter-offensive in Kherson, he said on Monday (August 29).
Ukraine launched a counterattack in the port city on Monday and is now hoping to regain control of the strategically important Kherson region.
Kherson itself was the first major city that Moscow was able to occupy after the outbreak of war - but according to Kirby, Russian troops are already getting into trouble.
Ukrainian forces at a checkpoint near the port city of Kherson.
(Archive photo) © AFP
"Regardless of the size, scale and scope of this counter-offensive that has been talked about today, it has already had an impact on Russian military capabilities because the Russians have had to withdraw resources from the east simply because of reports that the Ukrainians in the South could go more on the offensive," Kirby told US news channel CNN.
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In particular, the Kremlin is said to have withdrawn troops from the Donbass in order to be able to prepare for the Ukrainian attack in the south of the country: "They had to withdraw some units from certain areas in the east of the Donbass in order to react to what they believed to be a counter-offensive". said Kirby.
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Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin has been counting on a faster mobilization of armed forces for the Ukraine war for some time.
Moscow is now trying not only to "increase the number of people they recruit from within Russia," but also to encourage soldiers to continue their service after their term of service has expired.
Over the weekend, Putin ordered the armed forces to be increased by 137,000, bringing the total number of soldiers to an estimated 1.15 million.
However , as
Newsweek
reports, the measure will not come into effect until January 1 and will be largely based on volunteers.
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nak
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