Russia integrates occupied areas of Ukraine in its 'Southern Military District' but this not to impact war campaign – British intelligence

16:45, 04.02.2023 1 min read

The Russian military on Friday formally integrated occupied areas of Ukraine into its "Southern Military District" headquartered in Rostov-on-Don, according to a Defence Intelligence report published on Twitter by the Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom on Saturday morning.

"The move highlights that the Russian military likely aspires to integrate newly occupied territory into a long-term strategic posture. However, it is unlikely to have an immediate impact on the campaign – Russia currently deploys forces from across all of Russia's military districts commanded by an ad hoc deployed headquarters," Defence Intelligence said.