A militia that reports directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin has established tank units as part of an expansion of its military capabilities.
The National Guard of Russia, known as Rosgvardiya, is a 400,000-strong organization that is not part of the Russian Ministry of Defense. Its primary objective is to provide domestic security to ensure the continuity of Mr. Putin’s regime, British defense officials said Monday.
Rosgvardiya is commanded by Viktor Zolotov, Mr. Putin’s former bodyguard. Its units have deployed to Ukraine and play a role in rear-area security operations. Some units have participated in frontline combat despite being ill-suited to the intense fighting, U.K. military officials posted on X in their latest assessment of the battlefield.
The decision to strengthen Rosgvardiya with heavy weaponry follows the abortive mutiny in June 2023 by the Wagner Group. The former Russian mercenary army has been largely absorbed into the Kremlin’s state security apparatus.
“Despite Zolotov’s claims that his force performed ‘excellently’ during the mutiny, there is no evidence that Rosgvardiya carried out any action against Wagner; exactly the sort of internal security threat it was designed to repress,” British military officials said.
The creation of tank units is a “marked militarization” of Rosgvardiya, improving its ability to deal with military and paramilitary threats to the security of the Putin regime. “It also almost certainly demonstrates the Kremlin’s continued trust in Rosgvardiya’s loyalty,” British officials said.
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• Mike Glenn can be reached at mglenn@washingtontimes.com.
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