As of: March 26, 2024, 5:18 a.m
By: Marcus Giebel
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Needs even more soldiers for his plans: Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin wants to further arm Russia.
© IMAGO / SNA, ITAR-TASS
Russia continues to expand its military, while the war in Ukraine continues to cause enormous losses.
Sergei Shoigu even makes a concrete announcement.
Moscow – Russia feels threatened.
Above all from the old enemy, the USA, but also from their supporters in Western Europe.
At least that is the explanation given by Vladimir Putin and his followers for the war in Ukraine, which, according to Moscow, represents a kind of self-defense.
Russia wants to expand this further in the future and plans to strengthen its military.
Putin and the Ukraine war: Kremlin boss relies on mass and pure violence
The Kremlin's response to perceived threats has always been violence.
Pure violence.
And this is ensured with sheer mass.
The war economy is in full swing, Putin is sending huge numbers of soldiers to the combat zone in Ukraine.
It has long been clear to the whole world: The president, who is entering his fifth term in office, is making Russia pay an enormously high price in order to pursue its goals in the Ukraine war.
The necessary armament of the army has long been in full swing.
As the Moscow-based media company
RBC
reports, Sergei Shoigu gave a current status report on the expansion of the force at a meeting of the military department's board.
“An army corps, a motorized rifle division, the Dnieper flotilla and a brigade of river boats of the flotilla were formed,” the defense minister is quoted as saying.
The think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) points out that the Dnieper Flotilla is the historical name of various special military units operating on rivers that were used in the Second World War and in previous wars.
New army for Russia: Shoigu reveals plans for war in Ukraine by the end of the year
However, according to Shoigu, Moscow has further plans to position itself even more broadly by the end of the year.
During this time, two combined arms armies and 30 formations, including 14 divisions and 16 brigades, are to be formed.
Here the ISW emphasizes that Russia has already formed two new armies in 2023 with the 18th and 25th.
It is not clear whether Shoigu meant to hint at two more with his remarks.
However, Putin's confidant announced in January 2023 that three new motorized rifle divisions and two new air force divisions, together with seven existing motorized rifle brigades, would be restructured into motorized rifle divisions.
In his latest speech, however, he no longer made any distinctions, which is why it is likely that Russia wants to set up two more divisions in addition to the twelve mentioned.
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According to the
Kyiv Independent,
Shoigu added during his appearance: "We will continue to strengthen the Russian military in accordance with emerging threats to our country's security."
Russia is arming its army - but not because of the war in Ukraine: According to experts, the target is NATO
However, according to the ISW's assessment, in the midst of the Ukraine war, Moscow currently lacks the manpower, military infrastructure and training opportunities to staff several new divisions and army-level formations and to reach full strength in the medium term.
However, Putin is probably more interested in expanding long-term military capabilities compared to NATO.
Military experts therefore expect that these Russian efforts are preparation for a possible conventional war with the transatlantic alliance and are not directly aimed at fighting with Ukraine.
Politicians among military superiors: Russia's Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu (right, 2nd from left) provides insight into the Kremlin's rearmament plans.
© IMAGO / ITAR-TASS
Russia is probably reacting to NATO expansion: Moscow wants to ensure “state security”.
The US portal
Newsweek
spoke to John Foreman, the former British defense attaché for Moscow and Kiev, about a possible threat to NATO.
The retired Royal Navy officer hears nothing new in Shoigu's statement, and his sentences do not indicate a Russian attack on the confederation.
Rather, he sees “a repetition of previously announced plans to expand and transform the Russian army as a strategic defense measure as a result of Finland and Sweden joining NATO.”
Regarding the details, Shoigu remained opaque.
Foreman cannot imagine "that Russia is currently capable of manning these new larger formations given the ongoing fighting in Ukraine, ongoing casualties, intense pressure on the military-industrial complex, and destruction of vast amounts of equipment." to train and equip”.
RBC
also brings into play Putin's December decree on armed forces personnel levels.
Almost 2.21 million people are grouped here, of which 1.32 million are considered military personnel.
Even then, Shoigu emphasized that there was a need to increase the number.
Ex-President Dmitry Medvedev explained in his role as deputy head of the Security Council that when expanding the army, the focus was on “the independence and security of the state”.
(mg)