General of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced the readiness of Ukraine for hostilities by the Russian Federation after CIT reports on the movement of Russian military equipment

Ukraine is ready for a new round of hostilities by the Russian Federation. About it stated Commander of the Joint Forces Operation, Lieutenant General of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Alexander Pavlyuk. Formerly analysts from the Conflict Intelligence Team fixed the movement of Russian troops in settlements bordering Ukraine.

The founder of CIT, Ruslan Leviev, told The Insider that until the purpose of a particular cluster of equipment is known, it is meaningless to estimate its quantity. “For example, take the same field camp near Yelnya, the pictures of which were published by the New York Times today. To count it or not to count it? We are not sure that the equipment located there is in any way connected with Ukraine. In order to start a war or arrange a provocation, you don’t need much technology. Troops are pulled to the border, usually to demonstrate strength, so that the opponent will notice it. In the case of Russia, the equipment is not only pulled together, but also relocated to permanent storage, located in these new places near the border, ”Leviev said.

According to Leviev, the purpose of the current pulling together may be a demonstration of strength and pressure – both on Ukraine and on its Western partners in the person of the United States and other NATO countries.

In turn, co-director of the foreign policy and security programs of the Razumkov Center, Alexei Melnik, in a conversation with The Insider, noted that the movement and concentration of equipment does not yet speak of an impending offensive. “Let’s just say this is not the top news of the Ukrainian media. You’ve probably seen reports from our intelligence that they have slightly different assessments. In this case, it seems to me that both are right. Journalists operate with objective control data, that is, photographs where they compare a picture three months ago with what is now, and the movements of this technique are clearly visible there. At the same time, the General Staff and Ukrainian intelligence maintain that there are no signs of an impending offensive. The very movement and concentration of equipment does not yet speak of an impending offensive. At the same time, I personally do not quite like the tone of these statements. As for me, he is too categorical. This could be either a communication problem or an attempt to control these messages by the top political leadership, ”concluded Melnik.

CIT experts collected photos and videos from open sources, as well as analyzed satellite images. The accumulation of Russian equipment is observed in the Bryansk, Voronezh and Rostov regions, as well as in Kursk.

According to analysts, the Bryansk (Klintsy) and Voronezh regions (Boguchar) can be explained by the fact that long-term Russian military installations are stationed there. The 150th motorized rifle division is based in the Rostov region, and the country’s Combat Army Reserve is being trained.

Analysts also managed to obtain data for the last six days, which indicate the transfer of three echelons with military equipment to the city of Yelnya, Smolensk region, near the borders of Ukraine and Belarus. There, according to CIT, are the formations of the 41st combined arms army of the Central Military District. Satellite images of a field camp near Yelnya on November 1 published and journalist Christian Tribert of the New York Times, however, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reportedthat the additional transfer of Russian units, weapons and military equipment to the Russian-Ukrainian border was not recorded by the department.

CIT analysts draw attention to the fact that the equipment of the Central Military District is leaving not to the places of permanent deployment in Siberia, but to a new camp at about the same distance from the border with Ukraine. This “raises concerns, although it is not an obvious sign of preparation for an offensive operation.”

At the same time, Ruslan Leviev recalled that in one form or another, the movement of troops near the Ukrainian border has been present since 2014. “Since 2014, it has been a well-known field camp in the Rostov region. Further more. This spring, they began to actively use Pogonovo near Voronezh. The same Yelnya, which everyone is talking about now – not new equipment arrives there, but the same one that was in Pogonovo. So it’s just a move. “