BATTLE READY
Ukraine invasion fears as Russian bombers and armoured vehicles are deployed to border
RUSSIAN bombers and armoured vehicles have been deployed to the border sparking fears a Ukraine invasion is imminent.
Fresh footage shows the Russian tanks on manoeuvres in a region bordering Ukraine as new frontier curbs have been imposed by Moscow.
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A major air base for bombers in the same district, Voronezh, has also reopened after an eight-year upgrade.
The ‘Baltimore” airfield is home to Russia’s 47th bomber regiment, part of the 105th Combined Air Division of the Western Military District, and is just 105 miles from the Ukrainian border.
This has only fuelled Western claims - denied by the Kremlin - that Vladimir Putin is preparing for invasion.
The first 17 Su-34 fighter bombers were deployed at the base in recent days when a reopening ceremony was held, according to reports.
The revamped base boasts a two-and-a-half-mile long runway which gives it "the ability to accept aircraft of all classes and any size".
State TV has also shown armoured personnel carriers on the move in the Voronezh region, while reporting that a "new border checkpoint" had been imposed some 19 miles on the Russian side of the frontier with Ukraine.
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The movements were believed to be several days ago.
Local news reported that: "The documents of car drivers will be checked now when they enter the border zone.
"They need to have a passport and permission to enter the border zone."
The moves come amid some of the highest tensions since the end of the Cold War three decades ago.
Reports suggest it is now only possible for people to enter Ukraine by passing through one of the new checkpoints - who saw Russian military vehicles advancing across the fields towards Boguchar as they waited.
The Boguchar military unit is said to have "resumed its work" but that tanks are sometimes relocated from Kantemirovskaya railway station”.
The Kremlin has repeatedly disputed Western claims that military moves close to Ukraine are related to a possible invasion.
What is happening between Russia and Ukraine?
RUSSIA and the Ukraine have remained technically at war since 2014.
Ukraine was aligned with Russia as part of the Soviet Union until its collapse in 1991, following which it became an independent state.
Both nations remained closely tied - but Ukraine gradually began to distance itself, seeking deeper ties with the West.
The open conflict was triggered by the Ukrainian Revolution in 2014 - when an uprising overthrew the pro-Russian government of Viktor Yanukovych.
Vladimir Putin's forces reacted by annexing the region of Crimea from Ukraine - a move which was widely condemned by the West.
The conflict then spiralled when pro-Russian groups in Eastern Ukraine then took up arms against the state.
Russia gave their backing the separatist forces which formed breakaway republics in Donetsk and Luhansk.
Putin's forces then launched a military incursion into these regions as they gave their support to the rebels.
Russia continues to hold Crimea - and claims the region joined them willingly after they a referendum.
Seven years have now passed and the War in Donbass remains at a stalemate.
It is estimated some 14,000 have been killed in the conflict, including more than 3,0o0 civilians.
Ukraine and the rebels signed a new ceasefire in July 2020 - but clashes have been steadily increasing again throughout 2021.
But Ukrainian intelligence chiefs believe Russian forces could invade the country by the end of January by launching a massive assault across ten fronts.
Putin has staged a succession of major military exercises throughout the year showing off their range of terrifying weapons.
Previous analysis has suggested Moscow would seek to hit a knockout blow before Ukraine and the West could react and redraw the "frontline".
The move would eerily echo what happened in Crimea in 2014, when Russia invaded and annexed Crimea from Ukraine.
Russia have insisted they have every right to move its forces within its own borders while also claiming that the West is swelling forces on their frontiers.
Puttin also revealed that Western forces will be "reinforced with high-precision missile weapons" - notably the “tank killer” Khrizantema-S.
According to local news, they will "completely re-equip units of the 2nd Taman motorised rifle division with the Khrisanthema-S guided anti-tank systems".
Russian military expert Viktor Murakhovsky said it was "quite logical" for the country to strengthen their anti-tank units as NATO countries have a fleet of heavy armoured vehicles.
"These forces pose a potential threat to (Russia’s) Kaliningrad region and our western borders," he said.
GEARING UP
The tank-buster Khrizantema-S is seen as Russia’s most modern technology against foreign tanks, even though it came into service in its original version in 2005.
Murakhovsky said the ammunition is guided by radars which can "find the target in any conditions."
Elsewhere, Russian naval gunners used Bal and Bastion mobile coastal defence anti-ship missile systems “to practice wiping out a hypothetical enemy’s warships in the Black Sea” - as USS Arleigh Burke went on patrol.
The American warship is being closely monitored by the Russian navy, reports say.
The gunners "practiced delivering a missile strike against a mock enemy’s warship with a subsequent change of their launch positions and the delivery of repeat strikes", noted a TASS report.
The US Navy said that "NATO allies and partners routinely operate in the region” in support of Ukraine.
But retired admiral Viktor Kravchenko, former chief of staff of the Russian Navy, warned of the risk of accidental war.
"The United States is itching for it,” he told Interfax. "They will achieve it if some kind of conflict occurs. People may simply not be able to withstand the tension."
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