Russia transfers almost all troops from Baltic, Finnish borders to Ukraine - media

This was reported by Foreign Policy with reference to the words of a Northern European defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"The reduction in the number of troops that we have observed in the last seven months in this region is very significant. For decades, Russia kept ground troops near us, which have now practically evaporated," he said.

It is noted that the Russian Federation kept about 30,000 troops on the border with Northern Europe. High-ranking representatives of European defense agencies in a comment to the publication stated that the Russian Federation left only the "bones" of the group. The rest were sent to Ukraine to replace the losses of the troops.

According to the publication, Russia has concentrated an air group in the region, but is transferring other military equipment to Ukraine. In this regard, the number of the Northern Fleet of the Russian Federation has hardly changed.

The media established that the Russian soldiers who served near the borders with Europe belong to the 6th Combined Army. These units fought in the Kharkiv region, and then fled due to an active counteroffensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

However, US and European defense officials believe that Russia still remains a threat to the Scandinavian countries and the Baltics. In their opinion, Moscow will restore its forces in the Western Military District, regardless of how events in Ukraine develop.