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In the early hours of the invasion, on February 24, Russian paratroopers hovered around kyiv. A few weeks ago, they were engaged in defending the territories west of the Dnipro River, in Kherson. Following the Russian withdrawal, some units are now being sent to a new front, this time to the Donetsk and Lugansk regions.
The British Ministry of Defense revealed that, despite being “severely weakened” by the nine months of war, some of the units of the Russian Air Force (VDV) will return to the front lines.
Some of these units will have been reinforced with Russians summoned in the partial mobilization, announced in September by President Vladimir Putin. Despite the promise of training and equipment, soldiers arrive in Ukraine ill-prepared and there are already records of the first deaths among mobilized Russian troops. The British Ministry anticipates, however, that the new elements integrated into the VDV will be sent to places of great importance.
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In the most recent report, the United Kingdom indicates that “although these untrained soldiers dilute the supposed elite capacity of the VDV, it is likely that Russia will deploy these units in sectors considered particularly important.”
In Donbass, the units are expected to support the defense of the Kremina-Svatove area in Lugansk. As reported by The Telegraph, it was in this city that the Russian troops settled after the withdrawal from Kharkiv. The British ministry also says units may be sent to reinforce defensive operations in the Donetsk town of Bakhmut, which has become a focus of heavy fighting in recent weeks.
Source: Observadora
