British intelligence has reported that to restrain the counteroffensive of the Defense Forces of Ukraine, Russia withdrew military formations from all over the country.
According to sources within British Intelligence, the 58th Combined Arms Army of the Russian Federation is operating in the Zaporizhzhia region, which usually deals with security in the Caucasus region. In the area of Velika Novosilka, in the Donetsk region, positions are being held by the 5th combined army and marines. The Russian Federation has previously used this formation as a countermeasure to China.
The defenses around Bakhmut are now mainly controlled by airborne forces, usually stationed in western Russia to act as an elite rapid response force in the event of conflict with NATO. Intelligence noted that this shows how the war against Ukraine has “displaced Russia’s established national strategy”.