There are about 620 000 Russian troops in the occupied territories of Ukraine and Kursk

There are about 620 000 Russian troops in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine and Kursk.

This was stated by the Deputy Head of the Main Intelligence Directorate (known as GUR) of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Vadym Skibitskyi.

In particular, we are talking about 200 000 soldiers in assault units who are participating in combat operations and are on the front line.

Of the 620 000 Russian troops, 35 000 are Russian Guard servicemen who provide security for the occupying power, guard important facilities in temporarily occupied territories, and can, if necessary, perform tasks in the enemyʼs second echelon during the organization of defense.

According to Skibitskyi, it is still necessary to take into account the troops that provide logistics, units of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, and aircraft that are not directly based, for example, in combat areas, but are involved in delivering combat strikes. Currently, the Russians use more than 20 airfields and air bases on Russian territory to launch bombing and missile strikes on the territory of Ukraine.

Mobilization plans of the Russian Federation for 2025

Skibitsky says that in Russia there are no problems with staffing the troops and replenishing losses. In January, they fulfilled their recruitment plans by 107%. In total, in 2025, Russia plans to add another 343 thousand contract servicemen to the army. But this figure may still grow.

For example, in 2024, they initially planned to recruit approximately 375 000-380 000, then the plans changed to 430 000, and as a result, they recruited 440 000 contract servicemen. According to Skibitskyi, almost 80% of those recruited under contract are used to replenish combat losses.

In addition, Moscow has current plans to form new formations and units. These processes have already begun in the Moscow, Leningrad, Southern, and Central Military Districts and will continue throughout the year.

In essence, this involves replenishing the brigade to the size of a division. These measures will involve personnel who will sign a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense.

The Russians estimate that about 30% of those who supposedly volunteer to join the army this year will be people under investigation, in prison, or serving suspended sentences. In 2024, this contingent (they are called special contingents) was 15%.

They are offered a high salary, a large down payment for signing their first contract. In most regions of Russia, this is over 2 million rubles (depending on the region, a fighter can receive from 20 to 25 thousand at a time).

"For the Russian Federation, these are very large amounts. As a result, we see that in 2024, the plan for staffing through recruitment for contract service was not just fulfilled, but exceeded by at least 10 thousand servicemen," says Skibitskyi.

Now, combat activity has decreased somewhat, but this does not mean that the Russian Federationʼs plans have changed. They are using this time to train personnel, replenish ammunition, and prepare for further assault and offensive operations.

Currently, the priority for the Russian Federation is the Pokrovsk direction, Toretsk, Chasiv Yar and Kupyansk. The enemy also considers it a goal to conduct assault and offensive operations in both the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries

Ukrainian troops regularly attack Russian refineries. Ukraine operates according to NATO standards and understands what proportion of their oil refining capacity has been "knocked out" as a result of these attacks.

Itʼs not just about attacks on refineries or Russian fuel and lubricant storage facilities.

“If we are talking about military facilities, our task is to destroy them. If we are talking about the military-industrial complex, the task is either to destroy them or to interrupt the production line, that is, to postpone this production for a certain period of time,” Skibitskyi explains.

According to him, it is difficult to completely destroy such production facilities, because they are large and bulky enterprises. Therefore, Ukraine chooses those critical elements that need to be struck.

Ukraine also attacks the enemyʼs air defense facilities because without their destruction it will not be able to deliver its strikes.

The results of the Ukrainian attacks are a reduction in production at oil refineries. The reduction is not as significant as Ukraine would like, but it still has an impact on the supply of critical fuels and lubricants for enemy troops and aircraft.

The results also affect enemy military facilities, such as the Russian Black Sea Fleet.

"We forced all warships and submarines to completely move from the territory of Crimea directly to the territory of Russia. This also includes striking at ammunition storage sites, guided aerial bombs and missiles, which prevents the Russians from fully using their combat potential," Skibitskyi summed up.

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