The UK says Russia has begun deploying a new airborne division to Ukraine

British intelligence services indicated on Thursday that Russia had begun deploying a new division of its airborne forces to Ukraine, as part of the invasion that began in February 2022 on the orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin. “Russian Airborne Forces (VDV) have likely begun deploying the recently created 104th Guards Airborne Division,” they stated, before noting that these forces were to be sent to Kherson Province. Thus, they recalled, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced in August plans to create this division, which in 1998 had been reduced to one brigade, before indicating that in this way the VDV divisions would be increased to five “for the sake of battle.” But they highlighted that it is “likely” that these forces are “poorly trained” and that they “do not reach the elite standards that VDV enjoyed in another era,” according to a statement published by the British Ministry of Defense via a statement posted on their VDV social media account. “.