The reserve force that Russia announced in May that it had begun recruiting for was supposed to be deployed by the end of the year, according to the recruitment ad, which Ukrainian intelligence service GUR noted.
According to Kyrylo Budanov, a spokesman for the Ukrainian intelligence service, troop movements of the new Russian reserve band were seen moving towards the front in the southern parts of the country at the end of the week.
It will be an army of 30,000 soldiers that will be moved to southern Ukraine. According to an analysis from ISW the new recruits are expected to be inadequately trained – something that suggests that Russia has problems with the supply of soldiers.
“Has made significant progress”
White House Security Council spokesman John Kirby says that the American side has seen notable advances in the Zaporizhzhya area over the past 72 hours. The Ukrainian forces reportedly broke through Russia’s first line of defense, and attacked the second, at the village of Verbove in southeastern Ukraine.
The Russian occupying power has set up three lines of defense with mined ground, vehicle obstacles, trenches, forces and artillery. There have been reports of exhausted Russian units – and it is precisely in the southern parts of Ukraine that the Russian unit is to be deployed, according to Ukrainian intelligence officer Kyrylo Budanov.
No major achievements – new superweapon
According to the think tank ISW which provides continuous status reports and analyzes on the war in Ukraine, the achievements in other parts of the country are disputed. Ukraine says it has taken a 44 square kilometer area near Bachmut, but later Russian reports claim it has retaken parts of it.
Neither side has made any major territorial gains.
At the same time, the Ukrainian attacks continue deep into Russian soil. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video broadcast speech Friday night that the defense has developed a new long-range robot that reaches 70 miles. From Kiev to Moscow it is roughly 76 miles as the crow flies.