Russian troops are coming daily into the Ukrainian territory, Kyiv is considering a possible change of the format of the anti-terrorist operation in eastern Ukraine, National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Information and Analysis Center spokesman Andriy Lysenko said.
“According to the preliminary estimate, around 10,000-15,000 [Russian] troops and members of terrorist organizations are on Ukraine’s territory at the moment,” Lysenko said in a program aired by the ICTV channel on Monday evening, Sept. 1.
Four battalions of task forces entered Ukraine over the past 24 hours, he added.
“Each day, Russian forces are coming into our territory,” the spokesman said adding that in Luhansk Russian military are not attempting to hide their insignia.
He also said that the total number of Russian troops, which were brought up to the Ukrainian border during the first two stages of the anti-terrorist operation, was 45,000.
“We are aware of the situation and a decision on further reconfiguration of the ATO [army operation] format is pending. Some say this is a wrong format because we are no longer dealing with the terrorists, but a decision to change the format has yet to be made,” Lysenko said.
“I think we will hear about broader solutions shortly, among them solutions concerning personnel matters,” he added.
Lysenko also said the Ukrainian army was preparing for defensive operations in the south.
“Speaking of the southern sector, troops have been rapidly redeployed there and reinforcements have been sent. For instance, we have formed an outpost in Mariupol equipped with engineering fortifications and mine fields. We already possess forces in the southern sector to deter a more powerful attack,” he said.
Moreover, a large number of volunteers are ready to engage in combat upon first order, Lysenko said, adding that Mariupol alone has 5,000 volunteers.
