Russia pulls troops to the south of Ukraine to surround Nikolaev

In recent weeks, Russia has deployed nine of its units from the Donbass and Crimea, numbering 500-800 people, to the south of Ukraine. reported by The Times.

As the newspaper notes, in total this grouping is about 25 thousand military. Their main task is to surround and "take" Nikolaev.

The occupiers are interested in the city not only as an additional outlet to the sea, but also as a springboard for further advance to the east. The next goal of the Russians may be Odessa.

The offensive may also be necessary for the Russian Federation so that the bridges across the Dnieper in the Kherson region are beyond the reach of the HIMARS systems received by Ukraine, analysts of the publication specify.

In turn, the head of the Nikolaev Regional State Administration Vitaly Kim, in an interview with the Commander -in-Chief, emphasized that "taking" Nikolaev from the occupiers would not work in the near future. According to him, the regional center is reliably protected and is preparing for various scenarios.

Perhaps they have a plan to take Nikolaev in about six months, but in the near future this is simply unrealistic. In addition, first of all, the Russians will try to reach the administrative border of the Kherson region in order to record at least some kind of “victory”. For it is reasonable to complete at least something before taking the next steps. And now, on the contrary, we are slowly reclaiming the Kherson region,” he said.

At the same time, he notes that the authorities continue to evacuate the population of the region.