UKRAINE: THE SITUATION 272 - NOVEMBER 19, 2022

According to reports, the Russian forces are starting to reinforce their positions in the occupied areas of Luhansk, Donetsk, and East Zaporizhia with personnel from the Kherson region and mobilized soldiers. The Ukrainian General Staff reported an increase in Russian military personnel in the city of Luhansk and noted that the Russian forces are accommodating soldiers in abandoned houses in Krasne and Simeikyne, about 30 km southeast of Luhansk.

The head of the administration of Luhansk region, Serhiy Haidai, explains that the Russian forces are transferring the remnants of the Russian airborne units from the right (western) bank of the Kherson region to the Luhansk region. The military administration of the Luhansk region added that a part of the transferring Russian troops is arriving in Novoaidar, about 55 km east of Severodonetsk. The advisor to the mayor of Mariupol, Petro Andryushenko, also pointed out the arrival of transferred personnel and military equipment in Mariupol, stating that the Russian forces are moving 10,000 to 15,000 soldiers into the Mariupol district. Andryushenko believes that the newly mobilized soldiers will be transferred through Mariupol to the presumed western front line in the Donetsk region. Reports suggest that the Russian forces are trying to disperse their forces by deploying some elements towards Hulyaiipole in the eastern Zaporizhia region. Russia is likely to deploy more mobilized forces in the coming weeks, as the mobilized units of the 2nd motorized Russian Guards Division of the 1st The Russian forces are likely to continue using mobilized and transferred soldiers to resume offensive operations in the Donetsk oblast and hold defensive positions in the Luhansk oblast.

The full Russian Offensive Update 271 is available directly from UNDERSTANDING WAR.

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