Russia cannot close its border: the formation of gray zones began - Kovalenko
A week ago, the Russian Volunteer Corps, the Legion of Russian Freedom and other units consisting of Russians, which are ready to fight Vladimir Putin's regime, began a new wave of active action in the border area. These actions were larger and longer than in 2023. The military-political observer of the Information Resistance group Alexander Kovalenko told OBOZ. UA, how far the fighting in the Russian Federation can go, and why Russia is unable to control its border.
The border of the Russian Federation with Ukraine by Russian troops is not actually covered. The group responsible for border protection consists of approximately 35,000 servicemen and up to a thousand reservists. The total number can be estimated in approximately 45 battalion tactical groups (BTGR), the observer notes. The weapon of this group includes about 200 tanks, 600 armored vehicles, 800 artillery systems and just over fifty RSLS.
This does not meet the standards for 45 BTGRs intended for effective combat missions, Kovalenko stressed. For example, standard weapons of such a group should include 495 tanks, 1485 combat armored vehicles and 540 artillery systems (the latter even excessive because of the need for regular firing of border villages and cities). The group responsible for border protection is divided into three parts: "Bryansk", "Kursk" and "Belgorod".
Each of them has different numbers and combat capability when reflecting military threats. For example, the least combatant is Kursk and Bryansk, while Belgorod has the largest number (about 17. 5 thousand people) and the best weapons (more than 100 tanks, 350 armored vehicles, more than 450 artillery systems). However, this is not enough to monitor more than a 750-kilometer border, according to the edition material.
"A border that can be safely called the front line over 750 km should hold 45 undergraduate BTGR. This is, to put it mildly, even for a fully completed BTGRUr with functionality four times - hold 16 km of front in defense," - writes the publication. . However, Russia is unable to change the situation. It is critical of resources in the war zone in Ukraine to highlight enough strength to cover the border more reliable.
Moscow cannot afford from 60 to 80 thousand additional servicemen with the necessary weapons. However, raid groups can. "What we can now observe along the border with Russia is not a hike to Moscow and not even an attempt to liberate from Putin's yoke of Belgorod. These actions have a fairly certain and easily recognizable functionality The pen sample, now is a full -fledged prologue. But the prologue is in the article.
Using the insufficient protection of the border and the inability of Russian security officers to respond effectively to threats in the near border area, the raid groups are gradually creating gray zones here. These zones will expand. surrounding villages. Among them can be called a goat, Zarichya-second, Gorkovsky, Totkino (although the latter is too large for rapid capture, notes the observer).
There are villages that after the gray zones are absorbed, they become bridges for RDC, Legion "Freedom. Russia "and other Russian volunteers. An example of such actions is the cribs on the left bank of the Kherson region, which initially turned into a" gray zone "and then into a bridgehead for Ukrainian forces. "Only in the case of the Russian Federation will it be the bridgehead of the RDC, the Legion" Freedom of Russia "and other Russians with a cold head and a hot heart," Kovalenko stressed.
In the end, the purpose of the raids of volunteers may be to create a buffer demilitarized area along the border with Ukraine (on the Russian side) of a buffer demilitarized zone up to 10 km or more. "But so far, it is early to talk about it, because we see only the prologue, not the first section," Kovalenko added. Russia cannot control the border with Ukraine. She simply lacks the necessary resources that are concentrated in the war zone in Ukraine.
This can lead to raid action and create gray zones along the border with Russia. Such actions will put pressure on the Russian command, which can eventually be forced to redistribute their resources from the war zone in Ukraine to strengthen the border. However, this will not necessarily lead to success, as it was in the case of a crust.
Today, the Russian command does not have a single effective solution for the problem of border security, which creates an inconvenient position for him from both tactical and reputational views, sums up the publication. We will remind, fighters of the "Russian Volunteer Corps" offered the governor of the Belgorod region Vyacheslav Gladkov and conversation. Volunteers captured 25 Russian servicemen, and several of them are ready to give.
On March 15, fighters of the Russian Volunteer Corps showed work in the rear of the enemy in the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation. Volunteers removed the situation and showed their fighters from the intelligence. Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on the fights that are conducting the Freedom of Russia, the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Siberian Battalion in the Kursk and Belgorod regions.