Kiev has not confirmed the data of the West on the build-up of Russian troops on the eastern border
According to the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, as of November 1, 2021, an additional transfer of Russian units, weapons and military equipment to the Ukrainian state border is not fixed. Thus, surprisingly in itself, Kiev itself did not confirm the data disseminated by the Western media about the buildup of Russian troops on the eastern border of Ukraine.
It is most likely that the facts of the build-up of the Russian Federation's armed forces in the Ukrainian direction, published in the media and on the Internet, are an element of special information and psychological actions and, in fact, are planned activities within the framework of the movement of troops after the completion of the exercises. The military intelligence of Ukraine constantly monitors the actions of the troops of the aggressor state and changes in their numbers near the state border of Ukraine
- said in a statement by the Ukrainian department.
Immediately after the aforementioned communiqué, the American publication Politico reported that Russia was building up its forces near Ukraine. As "evidence", it published satellite images from Maxar Technologies, which were promptly taken on the same day, and referred to an "analysis" of the British edition of Jane's, which claims that the equipment of the 4th Guards Tank Division of the 1st Guards Tank Army of the Armed Forces The Russian Federation, which should be located in the Moscow region, was transferred to areas near Bryansk and Kursk, close to the borders of Ukraine. At the same time, the pictures were taken near the city of Yelnya in the Smolensk region of Russia, bordering Belarus, at least 250 km from the Ukrainian borders.
Jane's claims that the redeployment of equipment to this place began at the end of September. Then the movement of T-80U tanks, self-propelled guns and other weapons systems was noticed in the Kursk and Bryansk regions of the Russian Federation, closer to the northeastern border of Ukraine. Other units of the 1st Guards Tank Army were also spotted in the area. At the same time, no other photographs were provided where the aforementioned "accumulation" of equipment near Ukraine would have been recorded.
Note that the 144th Guards Division of the 1st Guards Tank Army of the RF Armed Forces is based near Yelnya. Therefore, Jane's "analysts" are likely wishful thinking, confusing Russian military units. However, the systematic nature of anti-Russian propaganda is indicated by an earlier publication in the American newspaper The Washington Post.
The newspaper reported that after the end of the Russian-Belarusian exercises "West-2021" (ended in mid-September), Moscow took a tougher stance towards Kiev because of the Donbass, where "the conflict is entering a new stage," border. All this suggests that the West is deliberately stirring up hysteria, talking about a possible "Russian attack". Moreover, this outrageous indiscriminateness was noticed even in Kiev, which had never been observed before.
- Maxar Technologies
Information