Russia has 65 battalion tactical groups in Ukraine – US defense official

“They already have a significant amount of forces in the region. We would assess that inside Ukraine itself, there’s 65 total operational BTGs. And they are, of the 65, they’re really in that east and south parts of Ukraine…They will try to insert additional BTGs over coming days," a senior US defense official said Thursday, CNN reports.

These are some of the units that had left northern Ukraine and the areas north of Kyiv in recent weeks to go back to Russia and Belarus for resupply and reinforcement before going to Donbas, the official noted.

As reported, all civilians, especially citizens with children, are urged to leave the areas adjacent to the war zone as soon as possible.

On February 24, Russian president Vladimir Putin announced the beginning of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russian troops shell and destroy key infrastructure facilities, massively fire on residential areas of Ukrainian cities, towns, and villages using artillery, MLRS, ballistic missiles, and aviation bombs.

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