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In the first hour of the invasion, on February 24, Russian paratroopers surrounded Kiev. A few weeks ago, they were dedicated to defending the territories west of the Dnipro River in Kherson. After the Russian withdrawal, some units have now been sent to the new front in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
British Ministry of Defence revealed Although “severely weakened” by the nine-month war, some units of the Russian Air Force (VDV) would return to the front line.
Some of these units will be reinforced with Russians called up in the regional mobilization announced by President Vladimir Putin in September. Despite the promise of training and equipment, soldiers are unprepared for Ukraine, and there are already reports of the first deaths among mobilized Russian troops. However, the British ministry expects the new components integrated into the VDV to be sent to locations of greater importance.
In a more recent report, the United Kingdom notes that “although these untrained soldiers dilute the elite capability of the VDV, Russia is likely to use these units in sectors deemed particularly critical.”
In Donbass, the units are expected to support the defense of the Kremina-Svatove area in Luhansk. As The Telegraph notes, Russian troops settled in the city after pulling out of Kharkiv. The British ministry also says it may send units to bolster defenses in the town of Bakhmut in Donetsk, which has become one of the epicenters of intense fighting in recent weeks.
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