Russian Sources Report ‘Massive’ Ukrainian Troop Movements Near Frontline
Ukrainian forces appear to be gearing up for a long-anticipated counter-offensive aimed at retaking territories captured earlier by Russia, according to sources from both sides of the conflict.
On April 28, Russian reports from the field suggested that Ukraine was amassing troops and equipment along several parts of the 680-mile-long frontline.
Yuri Barbashov, a Moscow-appointed official in the Russia-held Kherson region, reported seeing “massive troop movements” near the front, the purpose of which he said was unclear.
“[Ukrainian] troops are being relocated; exact routes remain unclear,” Barbashov was quoted as saying by Russia’s TASS news agency.
“They’re mostly moving towards the Dnipro River,” he said, adding that many appeared to be “non-local.”
Last September, Russia effectively annexed Kherson and three other regions of eastern and southern Ukraine. Russian forces currently control all of Kherson south of the Dnipro River.
Heavily armed and supported by its Western allies, Kyiv has vowed to recover all lost territories, including the Russia-controlled Black Sea region of Crimea.
Wagner Chief: Counter-Offensive ‘Inevitable’
There have been indications that Kyiv’s upcoming offensive would focus on the Donetsk region, where Ukrainian forces face superior Russian firepower near the flashpoint towns of Bakhmut and Avdiivka.
According to recent reports from Ukraine’s military, Bakhmut—a strategically vital transport hub—remains the primary focus of fighting.
But other signs suggest that Kyiv’s offensive could strike at the southern, Russian-held Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions in hopes of severing Moscow’s land corridor to Crimea.
Yevgeny Prigozhin, leader of Russia’s Wagner Group, has predicted that the vaunted counter-offensive would begin in earnest early next month–after the region’s rainy season had ended.
The Wagner Group, a Kremlin-linked military company, has led the fighting in several flashpoint areas, including Bakhmut.
“The Ukrainian offensive is inevitable,” Prigozhin said via Telegram on April 26. “The Ukrainian army is primed and ready.”
“Rains are expected to end on May 2. Another week is needed for the soil to dry,” he added. “Will they do it on May 9 to spoil the holiday?”
On May 9, Russia will celebrate National Victory Day, which commemorates the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.
NATO Confirms Arms Deliveries
Earlier this month, scores of classified U.S. military documents were leaked online, many of which were said to pertain to Ukraine’s long-awaited counter-offensive.
Some documents suggested that Kyiv lacked badly needed arms and equipment, raising questions as to whether the offensive would materialize.
But in recent days, Ukrainian military officials have declared repeatedly that the long-awaited counter-attack—to the east or south—was imminent.
“As soon as there is God’s will, the [right] weather, and a decision by commanders, we will do it,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said at an April 28 press briefing.
One day earlier, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg confirmed that the Western alliance had delivered almost all of the tanks and combat vehicles it had so far pledged to Kyiv.
“More than 98 percent of the combat vehicles promised to Ukraine have already been delivered,” he told reporters at NATO’s Brussels headquarters.
According to Stoltenberg, this includes over 1,550 armored vehicles, 230 combat tanks, and “vast amounts of ammunition.”
He added that NATO had also “trained and equipped” nine Ukrainian armored brigades, which would put Kyiv “in a strong position to continue to retake occupied territory.”
‘Unlikely to Shift Momentum’
Stoltenberg’s assertions were echoed by Christopher Cavoli, NATO’s top military commander and commander of U.S. forces in Europe.
“I am very confident that we have delivered the materiel that they [the Ukrainians] need, and we’ll continue a pipeline to sustain their operations as well,” Cavoli was quoted as saying by the New York Times on April 26.
The newspaper, however, also cited assessments by U.S. officials who believed the offensive was “unlikely to dramatically shift momentum in Ukraine’s favor.”
Moscow, meanwhile, has accused the West of “no longer hiding” its “direct involvement” in the ongoing conflict, now in its fifteenth month.
“They don’t even hide the fact that they are behind all this military planning,” a Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said on April 27.
“Not only tactical support,” she added, “but also the disposition [of forces] in line with their strategic plan.”
Reuters contributed to this report.
