About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

LOG IN
LOG IN


1 1 (January 19, 2022)

handle is hein.crs/govefdp0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional SResearch Service informing the legislative debate since 1914____________________ Russian Troop Movements and Tensions Along the Ukrainian Border Updated January 19, 2022 In mid-October 2021, social media and news outlets began reporting significant movement by Russian military forces, with limited Russian transparency, on or near the Ukrainian border and within Ukraine's occupied Crimea region. These movements, which follow a similar military buildup in March-April 2021 and Russia's Zapad military exercises in September 2021, have come amid increasingly aggressive rhetoric reported from Russian policymakers about the so-called encroachment of NATO near Russia's borders and the geopolitical status of Ukraine. This rhetoric has continued despite new bilateral negotiations between the United States and Russia, as well as joint meetings with NATO and within the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), in January 2022. On January 14, Ukraine was hit by a cyberattack that many observers attributed to Russia. That same day, the Biden administration accused Russia of sending saboteurs to Ukraine to have the option of fabricating a pretext for invasion. Many observers and policymakers, including some in Congress, have expressed concerns about a possible new Russian invasion of Ukraine or other aggressive actions. Russian Troop Deployments Many analysts and officials characterize Russia's recent military buildup as significant and as falling outside normal troop rotations or military exercises, due to the deployment of units over long distances and far away from their usual training grounds. Of particular concern is the movement and pre- positioning of equipment closer to the Ukrainian border, which is difficult and time-consuming to transport. Pre-positioned equipment allows Russian units to quickly mobilize and conduct operations. One possible indicator of an imminent Russian operation would be the large-scale movement of personnel to staff and operate pre-positioned equipment. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov IN11806 CRS INSIGHT Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress