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In total, the two largest operators have 16,000. platforms, each with two tractors or one or two military units. A source in the Russian Defense Ministry, who informed Kommersant, denies that the troops needed such a number of platforms at the same time.
According to analysts, difficulties in obtaining pre-planting equipment in factories are likely to cause a reduction in demand and an increase in imports.
According to a source from Kommersant, on March 26. In a meeting with Jambulat Chatuov, Russia’s First Deputy Minister of Agriculture, a representative of the St. Petersburg Tractor Plant complained that the Federal Freight Company (FGK, owned by AB Lietuvos Geležinkeliai (RŽD)) and the First Company of Cargo (PGK, owned by Vladimir Lisin) refused to provide the necessary railway platforms for the disposal of finished equipment – 8-10 per day.
According to Kommersant, the tractor manufacturer also submitted an application to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, as well as to AB RŽD. On the same day, Rostselmash’s concern was also applied to the Ministry of Agriculture with a similar problem, a source from Kommersant said.
At the Ministry of Agriculture, journalists were informed that Rostselmash had indeed contacted and reported problems with the supply of platforms for transporting agricultural machinery, but no reports had been received from the St. Petersburg Tractor Plant. According to representatives of the Ministry, the situation may interrupt the supply of new equipment to farms.
“Aware of the fact that the ability to acquire machinery in a timely manner is crucial to the success of seasonal agricultural work, representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture sent a letter to the Ministry of Transport asking them to cooperate and help solve the problem.” explained the Ministry of Agriculture.
A large part of the wagon fleet, according to the ministry, is currently at the disposal of private operators. It was promised to discuss this issue with the Union of Railroad Operators.
From the Ministry of Defense’s official answer to the question whether soldiers really needed a large number of rail platforms at once, and if so, what they were used for, Kommersant was unable to obtain them. However, it was heard that a large number of platforms were not simultaneously requisitioned by the Ministry of Defense for personal use.
According to a source at Kommersant, the need to transport large amounts of military equipment only arises in the run-up to planned strategic exercises, which are usually carried out during the summer months. This year, the strategic exercise, traditionally carried out in the western part and joined by Belarus, should not take place until September.
Ukraine says Russia is mobilizing on the border
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday accused Moscow of concentrating forces on its borders, and the United States warned Russia not to intimidate Ukraine.
Kiev has been fighting Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine since 2014, and this week Ukrainian officials reported on the movement of Russian forces in annexed Crimea and near the border with Ukraine near areas controlled by the separatists.
On Thursday, Zelensky’s ministers discussed the deteriorating security situation with allies in the West, including US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
“Muscle exercise in the form of military exercises and possible provocations at the border are traditional Russian games,” Zelensky said in a statement.
He accused Moscow of creating a “threatening atmosphere” in hopes that Kiev would resume last year’s ceasefire.
The US State Department said it was “absolutely concerned about the recent intensified aggressive and provocative actions by Russia in eastern Ukraine.”
“We would oppose aggressive actions to intimidate and threaten our partner Ukraine,” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.
Some observers say the reports on the mobilization of Russian forces are a test for the administration of US President Joe Biden. Last month, Biden made a fuss in Moscow, equating Russian President Vladimir Putin with an assassin.
Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other this week for escalating ceasefire violence between government forces and separatists in eastern Ukraine.
According to Zelensky, 20 Ukrainian soldiers have died and another 57 have been injured since the beginning of the year.
Furthermore, the army announced that a Ukrainian soldier had been injured during a separatist attack.
“Ready to attack”
On Thursday, L. Austin called Ukraine’s Defense Minister Andriy Taran, the Ukrainian ministry said.
During the conversation, L. Austin said that Washington “will not leave Ukraine alone in case Russian aggression escalates,” the report said.
At the time, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and his Canadian counterpart Marc Garneau discussed Russia’s “deteriorating security situation” on the front line.
Ukrainian military intelligence has accused Russia of preparing to “expand military involvement” in the separatist-controlled regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
In a statement, the intelligence service said it did not rule out the possibility that Russian forces tried to move “into the territory of Ukraine.”
A senior Ukrainian government official, who was unwilling to reveal his name, claimed that the Russian army was training to coordinate military action with separatists.
“Starting in mid-April, its combat units will be ready for the attack,” the official told AFP.
Afternoons ‘shouldn’t worry’
Moscow has repeatedly denied sending troops and weapons to aid separatists, with Putin’s spokesman emphasizing on Thursday that Moscow is free to relocate troops to its territory.
“The Russian Federation is relocating the armed forces to its territory at its discretion,” spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. However, he did not directly approve the mobilization of forces on the border with Ukraine.
He added that “no one should worry” and that this “does not pose a threat to anyone.”
The war in eastern Ukraine broke out in 2014, after a bloody uprising that toppled the Kremlin’s friend, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, after Russia tore up Ukraine and annexed the Crimean peninsula.
The Pentagon said Wednesday that the “readiness for Russian aggression in eastern Ukraine” had increased the readiness of US forces in Europe.
Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, also spoke with his colleagues in Russia and Ukraine, Valery Gerasimov and Ruslan Khomchak.
Komchak said this week that there are currently 28,000 in eastern Ukraine. separatist militants and “more than 2,000 Russian military instructors and advisers.”
On Thursday, Roman Mašovec, deputy head of the Zelensky administration, called for a joint military exercise with NATO forces, saying it would “help stabilize the security situation.”
Zelensky was elected in 2019, vowing to end the conflict in eastern Ukraine, but critics say his only tangible achievement is a shaky ceasefire.
Since March 2014, more than 13 thousand people have died in eastern Ukraine. people, according to the United Nations.
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