Both Moscow and Kiev have denied US media reports of the concentration of Russian troops on the Ukrainian border. According to Izvestia sources in the RF military department, no large-scale exercises are taking place in the areas adjacent to the southwestern borders. However, clearly implausible nthe statements about the situation in the region appeared for a reason, experts point out: they are associated with the active influence of Washington… Currently, the flagship of the American Sixth Fleet, the headquarters ship Mount Whitney, is stationed in Istanbul. The US Air Force has also become more active. On November 2, the E-8C Joint Star aircraft conducted reconnaissance in the Black Sea for several hours.
Geography lessons
Parts of the Western and Southern military districts are engaged in routine combat training, Izvestia sources told the Russian Defense Ministry. Large-scale maneuvers in the border area are not carried out.
On the eve of the American edition Politico published photographs with an explanation that they were taken from a satellite by the American space technology company Maxar Technologies. The pictures show armored vehicles and artillery. The publication writes that these forces are located near the town of Yelnya near the border with Ukraine, and this indicates the concentration of Russian troops in the region.
On November 2, the press secretary of the Russian president, Dmitry Peskov, said that one should not even comment on the quality of these publications and pay attention to them.
– There we are talking about the border with Ukraine, but they show the border with Belarus. You shouldn’t waste time on getting acquainted with low-quality stuffing, – said the representative of the Kremlin.
According to him, the movement of troops across the territory of the Russian Federation is “exclusively our business,” and Russia has not threatened anyone and does not threaten anyone.
– Our country, against the background of expansionist tendencies on the part of NATO, has always taken and will continue to take measures to ensure its own security, – Dmitry Peskov emphasized.
A refutation was also given in Kiev. Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), called the publication of the American edition “deliberate disinformation of the whole society.” According to him, there is no such accumulation of tanks in the area mentioned in the publication.
The 144th Guards Motorized Rifle Division is stationed in the Yelnya area, military expert Vladislav Shurygin reminded Izvestia…
– Russia did not hide information about the formation of the 144th division. The Ministry of Defense has repeatedly reported this, he stressed. – Moreover, information about this formation is in many NATO reports on the Russian Armed Forces. The photograph clearly shows that this is the division’s military equipment park, the construction of which was completed several years ago. This object can even be found in Google Maps. Well, I would also like to note that Yelnya is located on the border with Belarus, and not with Ukraine.
The photographs from near Yelnya, which are passed off as a concentration of troops near the Ukrainian border, are not the first publication in recent days, which speaks of the pulling together of Russian units to the southwestern borders. On October 30, The Washington Post published an article about the build-up of Russian forces in the region. Sources of the publication in the US presidential administration reported that “unusual movements” of units of the Russian army were noted in the office of the head of state. Later, the Pentagon said they were checking information published in the media.
Izvestia contacted the American military department with a question whether the command of the US Armed Forces has confirmation of the published data, and how the mention of Yelnya in the context of the “border with Ukraine” can be explained. No response was received at the time of publication.
– The American media are trying to blind Russia to the image of an aggressor, ”ex-Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Sergei Ordzhonikidze told Izvestia. – And in order to constantly “explain” this to the world, there is nothing more convenient than the Ukrainian theme. This is an ideological blow to our country… The publications of the American media have little to do with reality; we are talking about information pressure. They are trying to scare the whole world, demonstrate that Russia is an aggressive country, and thereby explain the buildup of NATO troops on our borders, and the number of aircraft and ships that endlessly carry out maneuvers near the Russian borders. They show other countries that they cannot do without American troops, so that they do not pose uncomfortable questions, for example, about US bases in Europe.
Meanwhile, the United States has stepped up its activity in the Black Sea region. Against the background of events in Donbass, the United States conducted reconnaissance and training flights off the coast of Crimea, and on October 29 announced the beginning of maneuvers. The destroyer Porter with guided missile weapons entered Chernoye. In addition, the command ship Mount Whitney was sent to the water area. According to Izvestia sources, while he is in Istanbul.
On Tuesday, November 2, an E-8C Joint STARS combat control and target designation aircraft was seen over the Black Sea off the Romanian coast, accompanied by air tankers. This is not their first visit to the region. In April of this year, they were seen several times while flying near the borders of Belarus and the Kaliningrad region. Four of these American vehicles have been based at the German Ramstein airbase since February 2021.
Focus on drones
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry announced on November 1 that troop movements reported by the US media were routine planned post-exercise activities. At the end of September, the Russian armed forces conducted large-scale strategic maneuvers “West-2021”. Then the Russian military department reported that after the completion of the training, the troops should return to their places of deployment in mid-October.
– According to my information, the American side has shown great interest in the appearance of Turkish Bayraktar drones in Ukraine and today is analyzing the consequences of its first combat use, military expert Vadim Kozyulin told Izvestia… – It seems that they are calculating how the aspect ratio in Donbass changed after that and the options for the development of the situation.
Perhaps the American leadership has hopes that the scenario implemented a year ago in the Karabakh conflict will repeat in the Donbass, the expert suggested: then the effective use of Turkish and Israeli drones made a decisive contribution to the success of the Azerbaijani side.
– The persistent interest of the United States in this problem is alarming, – stressed Vadim Kozyulin. – Especially against the backdrop of their recent calls for allies to lift restrictions on the supply of lethal weapons to Kiev, which reflects a change in Washington’s position. Previously, they themselves refrained from this. Apparently, they hope that the new weapons systems sent to Ukraine can play the role that the Americans call “game changer” – a circumstance that becomes a turning point in the game.
At the end of October, the situation on the contact line in Donbass escalated. Fierce battles were fought in several areas, Ukrainian units entered the village of Staromaryevka in the neutral zone, and the artillery of the Armed Forces of Ukraine struck at populated areas.… Then the Ukrainian General Staff announced the first combat use of the Bayraktar drone. The use of the remedy banned by the Minsk agreements caused a great international resonance.
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source https://pledgetimes.com/redeployment-of-troops-what-is-behind-publications-about-the-situation-in-donbass/
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