Ukraine: 10,000 Russian troops are stationed in the Luhansk region

The governor of Ukraine’s Luhansk region, Sergei Gaidai, said today that there were about 10,000 Russian soldiers in the area, according to Reuters.

“These are the (units) permanently located in the Luhansk region, which are trying to attack and try to gain territorial gains in any direction they can,” Gaidai told Ukrainian television. Reuters could not independently verify the report.

At the same time, the US Pentagon estimates that Russia has learned from previous mistakes on the battlefield, even if its progress in Ukraine remains “gradual”, according to spokesman John Kirby.

Russia has sought to address some of the “logistical and maintenance challenges” that have left Putin’s troops without critical supplies in the early days of the war, Kirby said.

Part of the improvement comes from the fact that the Donbas region is closer to Russia and part of it comes from a higher degree of skepticism about “going too far,” he added.

The Russian military has had only limited success in trying to improve the integration of its air and ground operations. “They are now using smaller units in smaller places and smaller movements,” Kirby said. Russia also continues to face problems with “commanding and controlling” its troops on the ground, he added.