You're reading: Poroshenko says over 9,000 Russian soldiers are in Ukraine

Over 9,000 Russian servicemen are operating in Ukrainian territory, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said.

“A colossal threat of the resumption of large-scale hostilities posed by Russian-terrorist groups is lingering on,” the president said in his annual message delivered at the Verkhovna Rada on June 4.

He said fourteen Russian battalion tactical groups consisting of over 9,000 servicemen remain in the territory of Ukraine. Hence, the concentration of Russian servicemen near the state border is 1.5 times larger than it was a year ago.

“The so-called ‘Rosvoyentorg’ is regularly delivering not only ammunition, food, clothing and fuel but also brand new weapons and military hardware,” he said.