Russia preparing to assemble 200,000-300,000 troops near borders with Ukraine - Umierov

The aggressor state russia has about 500,000 troops in Ukraine and near the borders, and is preparing to recruit another 200,000-300,000.

The Minister of Defense of Ukraine Rustem Umierov has stated this in an interview with Reuters.

According to him, russia has concentrated about 500,000 troops in Ukraine and near its borders. Umierov noted that the russian federation is preparing to concentrate another 200,000-300,000 troops near the border with Ukraine.

"The main military goal for the coming months will be to hold defensive lines and suppress the enemy, while simultaneously strengthening Ukrainian military potential in the air, at sea and on land," the message reads.

Umierov also emphasized that Ukraine is determined to liberate its entire territory up to the internationally recognized borders of 1991, including the temporarily occupied Crimea.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, Umierov stated that only half of the arms deliveries reach the hands of the Ukrainian military on time.

The arrival of American military aid, in particular artillery shells, after an almost six-month pause, enabled the Armed Forces of Ukraine to stop the advance of the russian army in the Kharkiv Region.

Recall that on May 21, the spokesman of the Khortytsia operational-strategic group of troops, Nazar Voloshyn, said that the Ukrainian military managed to stabilize the situation in the city of Vovchansk in the north of Kharkiv Region.