The Russian military could take nine different routes into Ukraine in a full-scale invasion, according to a U.S. military and intelligence assessment, and tanks could potentially reach Kyiv, the capital, within 48 hours.
Russia has already deployed nearly 100 of the military’s 168 battalion-tactical groups, composed of 800 to 900 troops each, with more flowing in every day. And President Vladimir Putin has dispatched personnel and equipment from six of the seven Russian special operations units, called Spetsnaz, according to the assessment. Each unit is made up of 250 to 300 elite fighters.
The two most extensive invasion scenarios would involve a simultaneous attack from multiple sides — a maneuver known as a pincer movement or double envelopment.
In one approach outlined in the assessment, the Russian military would take over most Ukrainian territory east of the Dnipro River, which includes about 50 percent of Ukrainian military forces, including their most capable units.
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