📢 Statement

Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) spokesperson Andrii Yusov stated that close to 700,000 Russian service members are deployed in Ukraine, including National Guard soldiers, special forces, and support units.

Donetsk Oblast
Likely Reported by 2 independent sources
Kyiv Independent Censor.NET

Two or more independent sources agree on the core facts. Additional sources would further strengthen this assessment.

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Close to 700,000 Russian service members deployed in Ukraine, including National Guard soldiers, special forces, and support units

The majority is deployed in Donetsk Oblast, which shows Russia's priorities

Electronic warfare is a relatively new domain for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, developed closely with evolution of UAVs. In 2022 they faced Orlan and Mavic drones on standard frequencies with no FPV drones yet.

In 2023 the enemy began employing Lancet strike UAVs, cruise missiles and guided aerial bombs fitted with Kometa modules for improved resistance to navigation disruption.

In 2024 a significant breakthrough occurred in frequency-based approach to operating kamikaze drones with many new FPV drones appearing on both sides.

In 2024 the adversary carried out sweeping upgrade of fixed-wing UAVs such as ZALA and Orlan.

In 2024 the first combined EW and air-defense command post was deployed based on the 7th Corps of the Air Assault Forces.

In 2025 the dominant trend is artificial intelligence enabling automation of EW work, with future systems treating operators as supervisors.

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Extraction metadata

Extracted: 2026-07-18T17:09:04.073Z

Source story: nearly-700-000-russian-military-personnel-deployed-in-ukraine-intelligence-says