Russia likely will create a new formation, the 18th Combined Arms Army, aimed to expand its military structures in the face of wartime realities, British intelligence reported.
“The formation is likely to be an amalgamation and uplift of other units currently operating in Kherson Oblast, including the 22nd Army Corps, the force which usually constitutes Russia’s garrison in occupied Crimea,” UK intel said in its daily report.
The anticipated formation of the 18th Combined Arms Army suggests a composition primarily comprising mobilized personnel. The focus is expected to be on defensive security activities in the southern region of Ukraine. Russia’s strategic rationale for this move appears to free up more experienced units to engage in combat operations on critical parts of the front.
“There is a realistic possibility that this has led to the recent re-deployment of airborne forces from Kherson to the heavily contested Orikhiv sector,” UK intel concluded.
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