On the one hand, these signs point to an increase in troop numbers and renewed pressure at the front. Russia wants to raise the conscription age from 27 to 30. It’s old enough already, but it fuels rumors that a new mobilization is imminent. The army needs new people.’
Support positions behind the front will also be strengthened. “It covers the whole front, not just the places we talk about a lot like Soledar and Kherson. But the positions behind the front lines are now being expanded across the full width.’
Finally, Russia has started recruiting mercenaries in Crimea, not with the help of the well-known Wagner Group, but with other organizations, says Hammelburg. “The fact that mercenaries are being recruited in this area also has a political overtone, because Russia is once again asserting that Crimea is indeed Russian territory.” These signs point to what appears to be a larger or longer offensive in Ukraine, Hammelburg says.
Soledar
The battle around the city of Soledar does not seem to be over yet. About 10,000 people lived there, of which about 500 are said to be left. “The rest were killed or fled. A soldier told CNN that the carnage is so great that it is impossible to count the bodies”, Hammelburg illustrates among other things after seeing satellite images of the area which show a “lunar landscape”.
Live Blog | Day 323 of the war in Ukraine