12-1-18 Speaking at a Ukrainian military event, President Petro Poroshenko said Russia has deployed "more than 80,000 troops, 1,400 artillery and multiple rocket launch systems, 900 tanks, 2,300 armored combat vehicles, 500 aircraft and 300 helicopters" along their common border.
These numbers, which have not been verified, would account for the vast majority of men and hardware assigned to Russia's Western Military District. https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/ukraine-stops-100-russians-entering-amid-entry-ban-59541226
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WASHINGTON, D.C. — A former senior adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin has told the Kyiv Post that he believes Moscow is preparing to send its special forces to seize a vital canal that provided water to Crimea….He quit his senior government roles in 2005 and sided with anti-Putin opposition groups. Illarionov left Russia and settled in the United States….
On Dec. 5, Illarionov passed on a warning to Ukrainian diplomats in the U.S. capital that he believes Russian military are preparing to break out of the peninsula deep into Ukraine’s mainland in order to capture the canal and other vital facilities.
The peninsula has few natural water sources of its own and relied on a 400-kilometer canal channeling water from Ukraine’s largest river, the Dnipro, to provide up to 85 percent of its water needs.
After Moscow invaded and annexed Crimea, the Ukrainian government blocked the canal and stopped water supplies to Crimea in summer 2014. Since then the threat of a heavy drought has been among the top topics in Crimea. “Without water from Ukraine, Crimea is doomed,” Illarionov said.
He explained the peninsula’s own meager supplies were barely enough for drinking water – let alone for its agricultural and industrial needs and that reservoirs, which had been fed by water from Ukraine, would likely dry up entirely by next summer.
“Putin needs to do something before then,” he said, “because otherwise it’s impossible to defend that territory without water.” https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/former-putin-adviser-warns-of-russian-war-over-water.html
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"Over the past five years, the Russian Federation has invested over $10 billion in the 'LPR/DPR.' This means it will never leave it on its own," co-chairman of the Prava Sprava public initiative Dmytro Sniehyriov said.
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12-10-2018 Ukrainian media is reporting fresh commercially-available satellite photos reveal several heavy IL-76 cargo aircraft flying into the Dzhankoi air base in occupied Crimea….
Reports of four heavy-lifting Il-76 aircraft, used for the rapid deployment of troops and heavy military equipment, flying into Dzhankoi near the Ukraine border from Anapa have added to those fears. The 7th Guards Mountain Air Assault Division, an elite which also took part in the seizure of Crimea, is based at Novorossiysk — close to Anapa.
Dzhankoi air base was reinforced last week by a fourth mobile brigade of advanced S-400 ‘Triumph’ surface-to-air missiles. The missiles reportedly have a range of some 400km and can reach 30km high, giving Moscow the ability to deny access to the region by aircraft and cruise missiles.
Russian tanks, artillery, armoured vehicles and trucks situated on the border with Ukraine at Kamensk-Shakhtinsky. -Google Earth Source:Supplied
Russian tanks, artillery, armoured vehicles and trucks situated on the border with Ukraine at Valuyki, Belgorod Oblast. -Google Earth Source:Supplied
Defence analysts have also scoured photos available on Google Earth to reveal a build-up of 100s of Russian main battle tanks at freshly built or expanded facilities right on the border with Ukraine. Masses of trucks, tanks and stores have been assembled at facilities including Kamensk-Shakhtinsky and Valuyki, Belgorod Oblast. Large numbers of Russian armored infantry vehicles have also been seen crossing Moscow’s controversial Kerch Bridge into Crimea….
Ukrainian General Viktor Muzhenko told media last week that the strength of Russian troops facing Ukraine was at the highest levels it had been since Moscow invaded and occupied Crimea in 2014. “In front of us is an aggressor who has no legal, moral or any other limits,” he said. “It is very difficult to predict when (he will) begin active combat actions against Ukraine.” https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/military/satellite-photos-reveal-buildup-of-russian-forces-on-ukraine-border/news-story/d549e80d791c9abe63adf6107e564283
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