Friday, November 14, 2014

Analysts Say, Thousands of Putin’s Troops Now in Ukraine

The fragile peace in Ukraine is being threatened by an influx of gear and armed men. What’s the Kremlin’s next step?
Eyewitnesses have spotted hundreds of Russian-made vehicles and heavy munitions moving into eastern Ukraine. Thousands of Russian troops are on the border -- and thousands more may already be inside Ukraine, if one informed estimate is to be believed.
The steady, and by several accounts heavy, buildup of troops and military equipment along Ukraine’s border with Russia has U.S. officials on alert ahead of a possible new offensive by Russian-backed separatists in the country’s restive east.
“Obviously this represents an escalation. Escalation remains high and is rising,” spokesman Michael Bociurkiw, a spokesman for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said in an interview.
32 tanks enter Ukraine from Russia
The OSCE has observers on the ground in Ukraine, says it has spotted 126 unmarked vehicles heading from an easterly direction into the contested Ukrainian town of Donetsk since Saturday.
On Tuesday, the group witnessed a convoy of 43 unmarked green military trucks with tarpaulin covers moving towards Donetsk. Five of the trucks were towing 120mm howitzer artillery pieces, and another five were towing partly-covered multi-launch rocket systems, the group said. That comes on the heels of a report last week of “convoys of heavy weapons and tanks” moving into the city, reportedly belonging to the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, a Russian-backed separatist group. The convoy included more than 40 tankers and trucks--19 of those were each towing a 122mm howitzer.
Military trucks are seen through a car window on Tuesday as
they drive along a road on rebel-held territory in the Donetsk
region of eastern Ukraine. Photo: Reuters 
And according to an independent assessment provided to The Daily Beast, there are as many as 7,000 Russian troops inside Ukraine now, and between 40,000 and 50,000 amassing on the country’s eastern border.
Read the rest of the story HERE.

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