According to the latest US intelligence assessment, Russia now has about 75% of its conventional forces deployed against Ukraine, he told CNN a US official with direct knowledge of intelligence.
The concentration of forces within striking distance of Ukraine is highly unusual and part of the reason the US believes Russia is ready to strike, the official said.
THE CNN could not independently verify intelligence.
This includes about 120 of the estimated total of 160 Russian Battalion Tactical Groups or BTGs that are positioned within 60 km of Ukraine, he said. While this number represents 75% of Russia’s top combat units, it is less than half of the total troops in the Russian Armed Forces.
US officials have reported that Russian troops combined with separatist forces could number as many as 190,000 people deployed around Ukraine.
About 35 of the 50 known air defense battalions are deployed against Ukraine. In addition, the US estimates that about 500 fighter planes and fighter-bombers are within Ukraine’s range, as well as 50 medium to heavy bombers.
Together, Russian forces now vastly outnumber Ukrainian military forces, according to the assessment.
On Thursday, the British Defense Ministry tweeted that “Russia has more than half of its land combat power close to the Ukrainian border.”
Source: CNN Brasil
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