US detects Russia massing 175,000 troops on border in preparation for ‘massive offensive’ against Ukraine amid WW3 fears
US intelligence has detected Russia massing 175,000 troops on the border with Ukraine preparing for a "massive offensive" as soon as early next year.
The move comes amid mounting tensions between the West and Moscow over a potential invasion of Ukraine.
According to US officials and an intelligence document obtained by Russia has been moving troops towards the Ukrainian border demanding Ukraine will not join NATO and that the US will refrain from military activities in and around Ukrainian territory.
An administration official said: “The Russian plans call for a military offensive against Ukraine as soon as early 2022 with a scale of forces twice what we saw this past spring during Russia’s snap exercise near Ukraine’s borders.
“The plans involve extensive movement of 100 battalion tactical groups with an estimated 175,000 personnel, along with armor, artillery and equipment.”
The unclassified document obtained by The Post, shows Russian forces have been deployed in four locations- there are currently 50 battlefield tactical groups tanks and artillery.
The US map shows approximately 70,000 troops near the border but it predicts the number is set to rise to 175,000.
According to the official the analysis is partly based on satellite images that “show newly arrived units at various locations along the Ukrainian border over the last month.”
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Additionally, the document states that “equipment may be left behind at different training ranges to enable a rapid, final buildup.”
It comes as more than 700 snipers have been deployed at the Ukrainian border, where they are being schooled in camouflage, firing positions and countering the enemy.
A Russian military spokesman said: "Servicemen from the sniper units of the Western Military District's combined army have begun to conduct large-scale exercises as part of a training camp in Voronezh, Belgorod, Bryansk and Smolensk regions."
Kyiv’s defence minister Oleksiy Reznikov said intelligence indicated a possible Russian invasion in late January.
And Ukrainian commander Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Kyiv's defence intelligence agency, said Russia could invade Ukraine by the end of January with an attack involving some 100,000 soldiers.
WARNINGS
Russia has previously warned war is "highly likely"; saying that Kyiv's desire to retake Crimea is a "direct threat", as the US has vowed to respond following reports of a Russian invasion.
The Kremlin has massed 100,000 troops, with tanks, artillery and ballistic missiles, near Ukraine as footage shows the Russian tanks on manoeuvres close to the border.
Vladimir Putin has also ordered US officials to leave Russia immediately amid fears he plans to order an invasion of Ukraine, before the end of January.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said US embassy staff who have been in Moscow for more than three years were being ordered to fly home by January 31.
Earlier this week US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned Putin could quickly order an invasion of Ukraine if he had a pretext for doing.
He said America was "deeply concerned by evidence that Russia has made plans for significant aggressive moves against Ukraine”.
"We don't know whether President Putin has made the decision to invade. We do know he's putting in place the capacity to do so in short order," he said.
Russia has also "intensified disinformation to paint Ukraine as the aggressor" and increased anti-Ukrainian propaganda by more than tenfold to levels not seen since its 2014 invasion of the country.
"The idea that Ukraine represents a threat to Russia would be a bad joke if things weren't so serious," he said.
He said Putin may "claim provocation for something that they were planning to do all along.”
'DIRECT THREAT'
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow is worried about the possibility of a Ukrainian military move.
He said: "Speaking in parliament, Zelensky said that the return of Crimea should be the main goal and philosophy of Ukraine.
"We see this as a direct threat to Russia.
"Such wording of course means that the Kiev regime intends to use all available means - including force - in order to encroach on a Russian region.
"This is how we are leaning towards perceiving it."
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said that an invasion of Ukraine would be met with a response, while Blinken warned of 'high-impact sanctions'.
Austin said: "Whatever we do will be done as a part of an international community.
"The best-case though is that we won't see an incursion by the Soviet Union into the Ukraine."
Austin also declared any US response to Russia's actions towards Ukraine would be carried out in conjunction with the international community.
Blinken has warned Moscow to pull back its troops from the border, saying a Russian invasion would provoke sanctions hitting Moscow harder than ever.
Last month an ex-navy chief warned that the world is "one mistake" from an all-out nuclear war as Vladimir Putin deployed 100,000 troops on its Ukrainian border.
Admiral Lord West told The Sun Online the situation "is extremely dangerous and risky" with Putin playing "games in the area of grey warfare - things short of war."
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He continued: "In terms of the nuclear clock, I think we are closer to midnight than we've been certainly since the 1960s probably.
"And that's because of Russia's silly behaviour in Eastern Europe."
What is happening between Russia and Ukraine?
RUSSIA and the Ukraine have remained technically at war since 2014.
Ukraine was aligned with Russia as part of the Soviet Union until its collapse in 1991, following which it became an independent state.
Both nations remained closely tied - but Ukraine gradually began to distance itself, seeking deeper ties with the West.
The open conflict was triggered by the Ukrainian Revolution in 2014 - when an uprising overthrew the pro-Russian government of Viktor Yanukovych.
Vladimir Putin's forces reacted by annexing the region of Crimea from Ukraine - a move which was widely condemned by the West.
The conflict then spiralled when pro-Russian groups in Eastern Ukraine then took up arms against the state.
Russia gave their backing the separatist forces which formed breakaway republics in Donetsk and Luhansk.
Putin's forces then launched a military incursion into these regions as they gave their support to the rebels.
Russia continues to hold Crimea - and claims the region joined them willingly after they a referendum.
Seven years have now passed and the War in Donbass remains at a stalemate.
It is estimated some 14,000 have been killed in the conflict, including more than 3,0o0 civilians.
Ukraine and the rebels signed a new ceasefire in July 2020 - but clashes have been steadily increasing again throughout 2021.
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