29.03.2024

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Kiev amassed 90 thousand soldiers on the contact line

03:36, 11.02.2017

Military experts believe that such a configuration of the troops is typical for an offensive. 

Ukraine continues to deliver large forces to the contact line: on the DPR-Live portal appeared infographics of the operational formation of the grouping. 

‘The AFU grouping is divided into four parts nearly identical in size, such as the separate tactical group (STG) «Lugansk», the STG «Donetsk», the STG «Mariupol» and the operational reserve,’ the report says.

It is noted that each part consists of approximately 16-17 thousands of the personnel, 80-100 tanks, about 500 infantry fighting vehicles, about 260 artillery systems and mortars, about 40 MLRS, about 300 anti-tank systems, and up to 400 air-defense systems. In total, near the contact line, there are now amassed almost 90 thousand Ukrainian military. 

‘The most interesting is the STG «Donetsk» sector. There are three backup airmobile brigades and one tank battalion tactic group, as well as another two tank brigades at the sector boundaries,’ stated the report.

At the same time, despite assurances of the AFU command that such a configuration of the troops is a deeply layered defense, the military experts believe that it is typical rather for an offensive. 

‘This fact is confirmed by the location of the AFU artillery brigades armed with 152mm systems. Two of the three such brigades are amassed in the STG «Donetsk» sector. Such a configuration of armored vehicles, artillery and infantry units looks like an offensive fist of the AFU, with the city of Gorlovka as a possible target. In addition, a strike on Dokuchaevsk in the south of Donetsk is not excluded either,’ believe the authors of the material.

At the same time, the military experts question the fact that Kiev has enough forces to conduct offensive operations in all three directions, but two of them it can quite afford. 

‘The option of «the north of Gorlovka and the south of Donetsk» is questionable, since involving reserves in these directions will weaken the position in the Avdeevka area. The other two cases involve a strike from Avdeevka. That is why the Avdeevka industrial area is so important as the failure of the AFU plans in this area will lead to the failure of plans of the entire winter campaign,’ underline the experts.