WASHINGTON - Russia has roughly doubled the number of its battalions near the Ukrainian border, Western officials said on Aug. 4, and could respond to the Kyiv government's gains there by launching a cross-border incursion with little or no warning.
Russia's War Against Ukraine
New York Times: Buildup makes Russia battle-ready for Ukraine
Over the past several weeks, Russia has built up 17 battalions - totaling 19,000 to 21,000 troops, according to one Western estimate - into a battle-ready force of infantry, armor, artillery and air defense within a few miles of the border.
