120,000 Ukrainian troops amassed at Donbas contact line: DRP
As Ukraine and its western ally accuse Russia of a military buildup on the borders, Kyiv has over 120,000 amassed at the contact line in Donbas.
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A soldier of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic watches from a frontline position on the line of separation from the Ukrainian armed forces outside Donetsk, on November 19, 2021 (Reuters)
The self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic observes some 120,000 Ukrainian troops near the line of contact in Donbas, eastern Ukraine.
DRP head Denis Pushilin said Saturday new batches of military equipment constantly arriving in the area.
"What we now see directly from the Ukrainian side is about 120,000 [soldiers]. This is what we see - not counting rotational changes in numbers," Pushilin noted.
"I mean, this is the stable number that we have been observing for three and a half months... in the area of about 100 kilometers [620 miles] away from the Russian border, give or take," he told the Soloviev Live YouTube show.
Military equipment has constantly been arriving at the location, he revealed, adding that there have been unconfirmed reports about there being foreign mercenaries near the contact line.
Additionally, the Donetsk People's Republic has denied allegations that it is preparing an offensive of any sort.
The Ukrainian military buildup comes as Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of its own military buildup on its borders with Ukraine.
Russia insists that it has no intention of attacking any country, seeing the Western accusations as a pretext to deploy more NATO military equipment close to Russia's borders.
The Kremlin has been demanding a written commitment that Ukraine would never be able to join NATO and that the alliance would not place any military equipment in certain countries in the region surrounding Russia.
Moscow sees that it is best for Russian security that the alliance does not expand eastward and that Russia does not have any Western military activity in its vicinity.
