KYIV (REUTERS) - Russia has "almost certainly" established a major new ground forces formation to support its operations in Ukraine, Britain said Tuesday (Aug 9).

This unit, called the 3rd Army Corps, is based out of the city of Mulino, east of Russia's capital Moscow, the British Defence Ministry said in its daily intelligence bulletin on Twitter.

The update added that Russian commanders continued to face "competing operational priorities" of reinforcing its offensive in the eastern Donbas region, as well as strengthening its defence against Ukrainian counterattacks in the south.

Moscow refers to the Ukraine invasion as a "special military operation".