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British intelligence: Russia assembling reserve forces near Ukraine for future offensive
British military intelligence said on Saturday (July 9) that Russia is moving reserve forces from across the country and assembling them near Ukraine for future offensive operations.
Britain's Ministry of Defence tweeted in a regular bulletin that a large proportion of the new Russian infantry units are probably deploying with MT-LB armoured vehicles taken from long-term storage as their primary transport.
On the front lines in the eastern region of Donbas, Ukrainian officials reported heavy Russian shelling of towns and villages ahead of an anticipated push for more territory.
A Ukrainian infantry unit on the road to the town of Siversk, whose members spoke to Reuters, had set up positions on the edge of a deep earth bunker covered with logs and sandbags and defended by machine guns.
In the Russian-occupied parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in the south, Ukraine's deputy prime minister urged residents to evacuate before Ukrainian forces launch a counter-offensive.
Moscow politician gets 7 years for denouncing war in Ukraine
Iryna Vereshchuk was quoted as saying by Ukrainian media: "Please leave - our army will begin retaking these areas. Our determination is rock solid. And it will be very difficult later to open humanitarian corridors when children are involved.”
Ukraine urged its allies to send more weapons as its forces dig in, hoping to stall Russia's military advance through the eastern Donbas region, while Ukraine's chief negotiator said a turning part was approaching in the conflict.
levantnews-reuters
