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Military intelligence: More than 420,000 Russian soldiers deployed across occupied territories

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More than 420,000 Russian soldiers are deployed across occupied Ukrainian territories, Vadym Skibitsky, deputy head of Ukraine's military intelligence, said on Sept. 9.

Speaking at the annual Yalta European Strategy (YES) conference held in Kyiv, Skibitsky said that the estimate doesn't include Russia's National Guard, as well as some other structures – such as its security forces, in occupied Ukraine.

As of September, Russia still partially occupied Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk oblasts, including two regional capitals of the Donbas – Donetsk and Luhansk since 2014.

On Aug. 27, Ukrainian military spokesperson Illia Yevlash reported that Russia had accumulated around 100,000 troops in the Kupiansk and Lyman sectors of the northeastern front line, running roughly along the border of occupied Luhansk Oblast.

In an effort to take back previously liberated territory and tie down forces available for the Ukrainian counteroffensive, Russian forces have intensified their own offensive operations in the area, especially around Kupiansk, but have so far failed to make any significant advances.

Inching forward in Bakhmut counteroffensive, Ukraine’s hardened units look ahead to long, grim war
Editor’s note: Though the commanders quoted in this story are public figures, the other soldiers are identified by first names and callsigns only due to security reasons. DONETSK OBLAST — In a wide field in Donetsk Oblast, the silence of what would otherwise be a sleepy August afternoon is broken
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Asami Terajima

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Asami Terajima is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent covering Ukrainian military issues, front-line developments, and politics. She is the co-author of the weekly War Notes newsletter. She previously worked as a business reporter for the Kyiv Post focusing on international trade, infrastructure, investment, and energy. Originally from Japan, Terajima moved to Ukraine during childhood and completed her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in the U.S. She is the winner of the Thomson Reuters Foundation's Kurt Schork Award in International Journalism 2023 (Local Reporter category) and the George Weidenfeld Prize, awarded as part of Germany's Axel Springer Prize 2023. She was also featured in the Media Development Foundation’s “25 under 25: Young and Bold” 2023 list of emerging media makers in Ukraine.

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