Military intelligence: More than 420,000 Russian soldiers deployed across occupied territories.

More than 420,000 Russian soldiers are deployed across occupied Ukrainian territories, Vadym Skibitsky, deputy head of Ukraine's military intelligence, said on Sept.

9. Speaking at the annual Yalta European Strategy (YES) conference held in Kyiv, Skibitsky said that the estimate doesn't include Russia's National Guard, as well as some other structures - such as its security forces, in occupied Ukraine. As of September, Russia still partially occupied Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk oblasts, including two regional capitals of the Donbas - Donetsk and Luhansk since 2014.

On Aug.

27, Ukrainian military spokesperson Illia Yevlash reported that Russia had accumulated around 100,000 troops in the Kupiansk and Lyman sectors of the northeastern front line, running roughly along the border of occupied Luhansk Oblast. In an effort to take back previously liberated territory and tie down forces available for the Ukrainian counteroffensive, Russian forces have intensified their own offensive operations in the area, especially around Kupiansk, but have so far failed to make any significant advances.

Inching forward in Bakhmut counteroffensive, Ukraine's hardened units look ahead to long, grim war Editor's note: Though the commanders quoted in this story are public figures, the other soldiers are identified by first names and callsigns only due to security reasons.

DONETSK OBLAST -- In a wide field in Donetsk Oblast, the silence of what would otherwise be a sleepy August afternoon is broken

Reporter

Asami Terajima is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent. She previously worked as a business reporter for the Kyiv Post focusing on international trade, infrastructure, investment and energy. Originally from Japan, Terajima moved to Ukraine during childhood and completed her bachelor's degree in Business Administration at William Woods University in Missouri, U.S.A.

She is the winner of the 2023 George Weidenfeld Prize, awarded for "excellent investigative and courageous research activities" as part of Germany's prestigious Axel Springer Prize.

References

1. ^ Inching forward in Bakhmut counteroffensive, Ukraine's hardened units look ahead to long, grim warEditor's note: Though the commanders quoted in this story are public figures, the other soldiers are identified by first names and callsigns only due to security reasons.

   DONETSK OBLAST -- In a wide field in Donetsk Oblast, the silence of what would otherwise be a sleepy August afternoon is broken (kyivindependent.com)