For the next counter-offensive, Ukraine has prepared eight units with a total number of 40,000 troops under the Ministry of Internal Affairs. On this subject writing Reuters, who spoke to Ukrainian security forces.
According to the agency, this number of soldiers was increased thanks to an “aggressive campaign”, in which advertisements calling to join the troops were placed on social networks and on billboards in the streets.
The new units that will take part in the counter-offensive were formed by the Ukrainian Interior Ministry and are controlled by the department, not the army. The brigades are named Hurricane, Spartan, Chervona Kalina, Frontier, Fury, Azov, Steel Border and Kara-Dag (the latter is named after the mountain of the same name in Crimea).
As the agency notes, “Steel Border” is commanded by Valery Padytel – he previously led the Ukrainian border troops during the defense of Mariupol. Then he was captured by the Russians, but was released following an exchange in September 2022.
At the same time, Reuters estimates that Kiev could face problems recruiting new troops. The country’s Interior Minister, Igor Klymenko, in turn told the agency that Ukraine still had significant mobilization potential.
According to Klymenko, among his new recruits are both former police and military personnel, and people with no combat experience. A number of women have also joined the ranks of the new units – they represent 2.5% of the total composition of the brigades, the minister added.
“For (the recruits), the goal is to liberate Ukraine. We are writing the great history of our state for many decades to come (ahead),” said the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
Recruitment into the units began in early February. Klymenko noted that the training of former policemen and soldiers could take two months, and civilians with no experience – up to four. A shooting instructor with the call sign Hassid told Reuters that recruits learn quickly and are highly motivated.
The unit’s fighters will fight alongside regular army units, which have been reinforced with new Western tanks, as well as thousands of soldiers trained by Western armies outside Ukraine, writes Reuters. The agency notes that the failure of the counter-offensive could encourage Ukraine supporters among Western countries to push Kiev to negotiate with Moscow.
The fact that Ukraine is preparing a spring counter-offensive has been repeatedly repeated by official Kiev representatives, including Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov. According to him, the timing of the counter-offensive will depend on weather conditions, but noted that it will probably take place in April or May. He stressed that the attack will be carried out in several directions. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), which spoke to military experts, wrote that the UAF’s spring counteroffensive could begin with missile strikes, followed by a tank attack supported by armored vehicles. . As the newspaper noted, as part of the counteroffensive, Kiev intends to cut off the land corridor that Russia has established along southeastern Ukraine and move from Zaporizhzhia to Melitopol and the Sea of Azov. “A high-ranking NATO representative” noted in a conversation with Bild that during the offensive, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will also try to open the way to Crimea by land. The source of the publication also did not rule out that an attack on the peninsula itself is also possible. Wagner PMC chief Yevgeny Prigozhin also said that Ukraine intends to “blockade Crimea” and “deal with the Crimean Bridge”. In addition, he suggested that the Ukrainian armed forces would attack in the direction of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions and also try to enter the territory of the Belgorod region.
