Russia has amassed nearly all the combat power it requires to launch a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, even beyond the regions claimed by separatist groups, a senior Defense Department official told The Washington Times.
About 80%t of the necessary military units — infantry, armor, artillery along with cruise and ballistic missiles — are ready to go and in forward positions, as close as three miles from the border.
“What continues to give us concern is the full range of capabilities that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has at his disposal right now — everything from significant offensive missile capability to offensive ground power,” the senior defense official said. “He has more than two dozen warships in the Black Sea” off the Ukrainian coast.
The Pentagon official said he couldn’t confirm social media reports that Russian troops have moved into the self-described Luhansk Peoples Republic and Donetsk People’s Republic — the breakaway regions of Ukraine that have been recognized by Moscow as independent nations.
“It’s based on the limits of our ability to understand and to see everything. We just cannot independently confirm those reports,” he said. “We’re not disputing [them,] we’re just saying we can’t independently confirm that.”
Russia is believed to have moved more than 150,000 troops along its border with Ukraine and inside neighboring Belarus. The figure amounts to more than 120 battalion tactical groups, the senior defense official said.
“They have advanced their readiness to a point where they are literally ready to go now if they get the order,” the official said.
• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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