Jane's notes (in a video on the military balance between Ukraine and Russia) that a lot of Russian paramilitary security and special forces troops will be freed up for duty elsewhere as of two days ago when the Sochi Paralympics ended.
So Russia will have security forces--I assume these are Interior Ministry forces--for either Crimea to get a better grip there, or for operations in eastern Ukraine if Putin decides he doesn't have to wait that long to test the West again.
Given the way the Russians have mocked our sanctions, I wouldn't bet too heavily on Russian patience.
UPDATE: The five-day ceasefire that Russia agreed to (and doesn't seem to be fully implementing, I'll add) which ends March 21, would give the Russians time to redeploy these security forces to face Ukraine.
About Me
- Brian J. Dunn
- I live and write in Ann Arbor, Michigan. University of Michigan AB and MA from Eastern Michigan University. One term in the Michigan Army National Guard. Former American history instructor and retired nonpartisan research analyst. I write on Blogger and Substack. Various military and private journals have published my occasional articles on military subjects. See "My Published Works" on the TDR web version or under the mobile version drop-down menu for citations and links.
