Up to 1,500 soldiers were sent from the base in Tajikistan to Ukraine
Taxi drivers, shopkeepers and restaurant workers say that the number of Russian customers has decreased recently.
Russia’s largest located in Tajikistan military from the base to 1500 soldier Sent to Ukraine. Azadlig Radio received this information from several sources. Sources said that another 600 soldiers will be taken to Ukraine from the capital Dushanbe and Bokhtar in the south of the country.
Each of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan has a Russian one military has a base. The number of personnel detained in Tajikistan is 7 thousand, and 500 in Kyrgyzstan. However, the exact number has never been made public.
Russia in the region military did not answer RFE/RL’s questions about the transfer of soldiers from their bases to Ukraine. Radio contact official, 201st in Tajikistan Russia the chief media officer of the military base Vasily Makhovoy did not want to confirm or deny the said claim.
But several other sources, including several soldier and local staff of the bases confirmed that some soldiers were sent to Ukraine. Residents and employees of local shops and restaurants also say they have noticed a significant decrease in the number of Russian soldiers frequenting their places.
1000 – 1,500 Russian soldiers are said to have already been sent to Ukraine, and several hundred more are undergoing training before being sent to war.
On August 27, two Russian soldiers who spoke on the condition of anonymity told RFE/RL separately that “600 more soldiers will be sent to Ukraine in the coming days.”
Russia a Tajik civilian working in a warehouse belonging to the army said that the volume of food ordered by the Russians has decreased in recent months. The employee, who did not want to be named, stressed that this was due to the decrease in the number of Russian soldiers at the base. According to him, the soldiers were told that they were temporarily sent to Ukraine.
“As far as I know, the soldiers were not supposed to stay there for more than four months. They would participate in a special military operation in Ukraine and return here again. But they have not returned yet. They say that the soldiers went on vacation after completing their four months. – he said.
Recall that Russia He calls the full-scale war he started in Ukraine a “special military operation”.
USAAccording to the calculations of , up to 80,000 Russian servicemen were killed or wounded in Ukraine already at the beginning of August. Russia does not regularly publish death tolls.
Russian officials are said to have sent mercenaries and even prisoners into battle to fill the ranks of the army. A large number of Russian soldiers and contract fighters are reported to have been taken to Ukraine without their consent.
The 201st infantry division, which was created in Tajikistan during the USSR, is one of the largest military bases of Moscow outside of Russia, the number of personnel is several thousand. The fact that some live there with their families means an additional source of income for small businesses near the base. This is what employees of local shops and cafes say.
Taxi drivers, shopkeepers and restaurant workers say that the number of Russian customers has decreased recently.
Resident of Dushanbe Abdurahim Solehov Apartments near the Russian military base are available for short-term rent. Most of its customers are also Russian military personnel. Solehov says that he has not had any clients in the last two months.
Russia began strengthening its military bases in Central Asia in late 2021, a few months before the attack on Ukraine.
Kant in Kyrgyzstan weather Local residents living in the areas near the base say that a large number of contract soldiers were suddenly brought there from Tyva, and then almost all of them were sent to Ukraine. Residents report that they have a good relationship with the soldiers.
An additional 30 updated T-72B3M tanks were delivered to the military base in Tajikistan in early December. At that time, Russian soldiers trained with missile defense systems here.
At that time, the Russian press and army officials explained all this with the situation in Afghanistan.