Pentagon: New Russian convoy ‘clear evidence’ of plan to focus on Donbas

Russia has begun to resupply and reinforce its forces in Ukraine’s northeastern Donbas region, including with a sprawling convoy of vehicles, but it has not yet begun an expected new offensive there, the Pentagon said, reported from The Washington Post.

The eight-mile long convoy has maneuvered north of the city of Izyum from the Russian border and is believed to include a command element, a support battalion, helicopter support and other forces, a senior US defense official said on April 11, speaking on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the Pentagon.

"We believe that this is an effort to reinforce and resupply their forces in the Donbas,” the official said, adding that Russia also has begun to reinforce its posture southwest of the city of Donetsk with artillery units.

It is unclear how quickly the convoy will move or what its ultimate destination is, the official said. But it’s "clear evidence,” he added, that Russia already is beginning to follow through on its stated goal of emphasizing the Donbas region, after failing to seize the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv earlier in its invasion.

Russia’s northeastern grouping of troops now includes about 20 battalion tactical groups, with dozens more spread across southeastern and southern Ukraine, the official said. About half of those 20 battalion tactical groups are in Ukraine, with others still in Russia. The number in Ukraine ticked up by two in the past couple of days, the official said.

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