UK intelligence reveals information on new special security service created in Moscow in 2023
UK intelligence has spoken about the role of a special "security" structure created by the Moscow authorities on instructions from the Kremlin, which has been gaining more and more signs of a paramilitary structure since the summer of 2023.
Source: UK Ministry of Defence on 4 January
Details: In November 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin granted the Moscow authorities the power to create a special security force to protect the Moscow metro. Subsequently, it was called the "departmental security of the Moscow government".
UK intelligence noted that since July 2023, this structure has begun to acquire the features of a paramilitary organisation, in particular, it has been allowed to use firearms. It is expected to involve 15,000 people, of whom several thousand have probably already been recruited.
Analysts noted that this is another example of the Russian tradition of creating paramilitary structures separately from the regular army. They assume that the impetus for strengthening the "departmental guard" was fears about the readiness of security forces in Moscow after the failed coup by PMC Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Quote: "The project also provides an opportunity for Muscovites to volunteer for ‘patriotic’ war tim duties – while avoiding front line service in Ukraine. Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin has been successful in limiting the direct impact of the conflict on the capital’s relatively well-off population. The majority of Russian casualties in Ukraine have come from poorer, provincial regions."
Background:
- In a recent review, UK intelligence predicted that at the current rate of Russian casualties in Ukraine, the total number of lost personnel will cross the mark of 500,000 by 2025.
- In November, UK intelligence reported that Russia was rehabilitating the Wagner Group after a mutiny attempt.
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