Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s decision to put heavy weapons at the disposal of the Rosgvardia (the Russian National Guard) may indicate that he views this structure as one of the main pillars of the regime’s security.
Source: UK Defence Intelligence review on the Russian-Ukrainian war for 8 August, as reported by European Pravda
Reference: Rosgvardia has about 200,000 personnel and has existed in its current form since 2016, headed by Viktor Zolotov, Putin’s former bodyguard.
On 4 August, Vladimir Putin signed a law allowing the provision of heavy weapons to Rosgvardia, and about a month before that, there was a mutiny by the Wagner Private Military Company (PMC).
UK Defence Intelligence emphasises that, despite Zolotov’s statement that this structure performed “excellently” during the mutiny, there is no evidence that Rosgvardia took any effective action against Wagner, although this was exactly the kind of internal security threat that the organisation was created to respond to.
Quote: “With Zolotov previously suggesting that heavy equipment should include artillery and attack helicopters, the move suggests that the Kremlin is doubling down on resourcing Rosgvardia as one of the key organisations to ensure regime security,” the review notes.
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