In a bid to continue its unprovoked attack on Ukraine, Russia is now sending over its troops from Georgia to Ukraine in order to bolster its military operation in the Ukrainian region of Donbas.
According to a senior US defense official, the Pentagon has observed several patterns that indicate Russian military movement from Georgia.
“We’ve seen our first indications that they are trying to send in some reinforcements from Georgia. We have seen the movement of some number of troops from Georgia. We don’t have an exact number,” the official told reporters during a press briefing on Friday.
However, the Pentagon official did not elucidate what s/he meant by “Georgia”, as there have been no reports of stationed Russian forces being mobilized in the country.
The Defense Department press centre did not offer an immediate response to an inquiry on the issue.
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Furthermore, the senior official did not clarify where the troops will be going in Ukraine, adding that the Kremlin has stated that it is focusing its activity in the Donbas region of Ukraine.
Russian military forces have been stationed in Georgia after Russia attacked the country in 2008 during an invasion.
Georgia is a former Soviet republic country that lies on Russia’s southwestern frontier.
Meanwhile, according to the senior official, the United States has observed that Russia has 22 ships in the Black Sea, including 15 “surface combatants”.
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The Pentagon official added that “most of the rest are amphibious ships.”
“We’ve seen them move into the Sea of Azov to conduct an amphibious assault, to try to resupply their efforts on Mariupol, we have not seen them move on Odesa,” the official added.
Russia could put the ships to use to launch airstrikes on Ukraine, although the US has not witnessed Moscow’s forces doing so, the official told reporters on Friday.