Russia is preparing 100,000 troops who could be used for a possible new offensive push in Ukraine this summer or to replenish depleted units, the commander of Ukraine\u2019s ground forces said on Friday.
\nLieutenant-General Oleksandr Pavliuk made his comments on Ukrainian television after recent advances by Russian troops in eastern Ukraine, more than two years after Moscow\u2019s full-scale invasion.
\n\u201cIt will not necessarily be an offensive, perhaps they will replenish their units that lost combat capability but there is a possibility that at the beginning of the summer they may have certain forces to conduct offensive operations,\u201d Pavliuk said.
\nIn a sign of hardening rhetoric in Russia, the Kremlin said on Friday it now regarded itself as at war because of what it said was Western intervention on Ukraine\u2019s side.
\nThe choice of words went beyond the \u201cspecial military operation\u201d language it has used so far, and could be part of a shift to prepare people mentally for a new phase of the war.
\nRussia\u2019s defence minister also said this week that Moscow would bolster its military by adding two new armies and 30 new formations by the end of this year.
\nUkraine faces a shortage of ammunition aggravated by deadlock in the U.S. Congress over a new aid package although Kyiv hopes to have enough ammunition in April, thanks in particular to a Czech-led initiative to source artillery shells.
\nDeputy Defence Minister Ivan Havryliuk said in televised comments that Russia had an ammunition advantage over Ukraine of seven to one.
\n\u201cI think that in a month or two this difference will be significantly reduced, and there will not be such a large ratio in favour of the Russian Federation,\u201d he said.
\n(Reuters)troop buildup. troop preparation, offensive operations, ammunition shortage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Russia is preparing 100,000 troops for a possible new offensive in Ukraine this summer or to replenish depleted units, according to the commander of Ukraine\u2019s ground forces, Lieutenant-General Oleksandr Pavliuk. This statement was made following recent advances by Russian troops in eastern Ukraine, more than two years after Moscow’s full-scale invasion. The Kremlin has shifted its rhetoric, now stating it regards itself as at war due to Western intervention on Ukraine’s side, moving beyond its previous “special military operation” language. Russia plans to enhance its military capabilities by adding two new armies and 30 new formations by the end of the year. Ukraine is currently facing an ammunition shortage, with a reported disadvantage of seven to one against Russia in terms of ammunition availability, although efforts are underway to reduce this gap, including a Czech-led initiative to source artillery shells.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":5204,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1521,122,3096,296,387,3091,3095,19,1827,3094,17,1180,293,18],"class_list":["post-5203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-other","tag-1521","tag-aid","tag-ammunition-shortage","tag-kyiv","tag-lost","tag-moscow","tag-offensive-operations","tag-russia","tag-statement","tag-troop-preparation","tag-ukraine","tag-ukrainian","tag-war","tag-world"],"acf":{"keyphrase":"","keywords":"","sourceimg":"","country-category":""},"yoast_head":"\n