Russia could have formed new army to deploy in Ukraine – ISW

The Russian Federation could have formed another combined army for deployment in Ukraine.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that.

"The Russian military is currently undergoing major reforms, including the creation of new army-level combined arms units, and the Ukrainian sources' reference to the '51st Army' may be an early indicator that Russia has formed another combined arms army to deploy in Ukraine," the US analysts said.

As military experts emphasized, Yuriy Povkh, the spokesman of the Kharkiv Operational-Tactical Group of Forces, stated that the Russian military intends to transfer parts of the "9th Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 51st Army" to the Kharkiv area.

Povkh also stated that Russian troops transferred Russian units from the Kherson region and from other directions to the Kharkiv front.

Furthermore, Lt. Col. Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesperson for the Khortytsia operational-strategic group of troops, stated that Russian soldiers plan to relocate the 155th Marine Brigade (Pacific Fleet) and the "9th motorized rifle brigade of the 51st army" towards Kharkiv to make up for the significant losses suffered by the Russian troops.

ISW recently received reports that the Russian military had relocated troops from the 155th Marine Brigade and the 9th Motorized Rifle Brigade, which are part of the 1st Army Corps of the self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic," from western and southwestern Donetsk to the Kharkiv front. However, no recorded reports about the Russian "51st Army" existed.

The ISW noted that the Russian military may have subordinated the 9th Motorized Rifle Brigade to the revived, possibly World War II-era, "51st Army."

The command of the Russian Federation's army withdrew some units from near Vovchansk due to the loss of their combat capability.

ISW Key Findings as of June 25:

• Two major international bodies—the International Criminal Court (ICC) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) — announced decisions on June 25 confirming Russia's long-term perpetration of war crimes and human rights violations in Ukraine.
• Russia and Venezuela signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) aimed at countering "coercive measures," likely to demonstrate to the West that the Kremlin holds influence in the Western hemisphere.
• Ukrainian forces conducted a drone strike on a Russian ammunition depot in the Voronezh region on June 25. They recently conducted strikes on Pantsir-S1 air defense systems in Belgorod Oblast with unspecified weapons.
• Russia imposed countersanctions against 81 European Union (EU)-based news outlets on June 25, following EU sanctions against four Russian state-affiliated news outlets on June 24.
• Dagestan Republic Head Sergei Melikov ordered investigations into the personal records of senior Dagestani officials following the June 23 likely Wilayat Kavkaz terrorist attacks in Dagestan, indicating that the Kremlin may be intensifying efforts to address Islamist extremist threats in the North Caucasus as it attempts to maintain a veneer of stability and normalcy.
• Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan met with Lithuania-based Belarusian opposition leader Svitlana Tsikhanouskaya on June 20 in Vilnius amid deteriorating Armenian-Belarusian relations
• Ukrainian forces recently regained lost positions in Vovchansk, and Russian troops recently advanced near Siversk and Avdiivka.
• A Russian military blogger claimed that the Russian Volunteer Society for Assistance to the Army, Aviation, and Navy of Russia (DOSAAF) will begin training unspecified Russian military personnel on October 1, 2024.