Tanks may be needed by the Russian Guard both to solve rear and front tasks, former DPR Defense Minister Igor Strelkov told Russian media. The fact that the department will receive heavy weapons and tanks in the afternoon of June 27 was announced by its head Viktor Zolotov after Vladimir Putin’s speech in the Kremlin Cathedral Square.
Strelkov recalled that at the beginning of the second Chechen campaign, the then internal troops, from which the Russian Guard emerged, had not only tanks and artillery, but even combat helicopters.
“That is to say, they even had their own combat aircraft. Therefore, there is nothing new in this. Some units with heavy National Guard weapons, of course, are needed. The only question is the quantity, volume and range of equipment that can be transferred to the National Guard. For example, I think the National Guard does not need the most modern tanks and heavy rocket and artillery weapon systems to solve rear tasks. Something very outdated, but still relatively combat-ready, is fine for them,” the former DPR defense minister told Russian media.
He noted that when the Prigozhin PMC fighters launched a raid on Moscow, it was difficult for the Russian Guards units to stop them.
“Because most of the units were in the NVO area, and secondly, because the Russian Guard does not have enough modern anti-tank or heavy weapons in general to counter the equipment that was at the disposal of the PMC Wagner” , he explained. , adding that to counter this kind of rebellion, “theoretically, you need heavy weapons from the National Guard”.
According to Strelkov, “even if we assume that the Prigozhin raid on Moscow will remain an exception in Russian history, which is not a fact”, the Russian Guard exercises control over the rear area of the military operation, which means that it must fight, including with enemy sabotage groups, which can have quite serious weapons and offer serious resistance to departmental units.
“For a successful assault on certain fortified houses where militants have settled, for a successful liquidation in forest plantations and the like, the National Guard will not interfere with a certain amount of heavy equipment. Also, unfortunately, war is an unpredictable thing, there can be deep breakthroughs from the enemy,” he said.
The former head of the DPR Defense Ministry noted that units that exercise control over law and order in the frontline area should be able to resist regular enemy army units at least for a while if she enters into battle with them.
On the afternoon of June 27, National Guard Chief Viktor Zolotov declared that the department will receive heavy weapons and tanks. According to him, this issue was discussed with Russian President Vladimir Putin. “This problem is now very acute. We have artillery and mortar units, we also have helicopter gunships <…>, but we don’t have tanks and other heavy weapons. We will introduce this in the troops,” Zolotov said, adding that the timing of the equipment will depend on funding.
On the evening of June 27, Alexander Khinshtein, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Information Policy, said that the transfer of military equipment to Russian custody PMC Wagner was not under discussion. He clarified that all equipment should be procured under the state defense order. According to the parliamentarian, the corresponding requests were formed by the department and sent to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Finance and other ministries in the spring.
Khinshtein noted that the decision to equip the Russian Guard with heavy military equipment was taken by the head of state earlier this year and was “unrelated” to an attempted armed rebellion in Russia. The MP stressed that “what happened at the end of the week clearly confirmed the soundness of the decision”, and also expressed the hope that this situation will speed up its implementation.
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