They want to strengthen the defense in the north-western direction with motorized rifle and tank formations
The defense of St. Petersburg and the entire north-west of the country will be strengthened with several new motorized rifle formations and, possibly, a tank division, sources told Izvestia in the Russian Ministry of Defense. They will appear as part of the Leningrad Military District, which is currently being formed, whose task will be to neutralize threats from Finland, which has joined NATO, as well as Sweden, Norway and the Baltic countries. Some of the new compounds should be deployed on the Karelian Isthmus in order to guarantee the protection of St. Petersburg, experts believe.
To fend off threats from the Baltic States and Scandinavia
New motorized rifle divisions will appear as part of the newly formed Leningrad Military District (LenVO), sources told Izvestia in the military department. According to the interlocutors of the publication, the possibility of creating a tank division as part of the Leningrad Military District is also being considered, but no decision has been made about it yet. The new connections will be covered by the northwestern regions of Russia.
In connection with the creation of a new military district, the task is naturally to fill it with units, divisions and formations, military expert Viktor Murakhovsky told Izvestia.
Photo: TASS/Yuri Smityuk
Image source: iz.ru
— As it seems to me, there will be two motorized infantry and one tank division, — he suggested. — This is a combined-arms filling, and there is also filling of the branches of the armed forces and services: artillery, electronic warfare, intelligence and others. But it is important for us to create new motorized rifle divisions. At the first stage, the Leningrad Military District will not be as strong as we would like, but over time it will be a very powerful strategic-level association capable of solving both defense and offensive tasks.
Previously, there were very few units in this area that "looked after" Finland and Estonia, but now the situation has changed and new ones need to be deployed, military expert Dmitry Boltenkov told Izvestia.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Alexander Kryazhev
Image source: iz.ru
"The Leningrad Military District being created will fend off threats from the Baltic States, Finland, Sweden and Norway," he said. — We used to have a normal relationship with them, but they decided to ruin it. This is their right, but we need to give an answer to this.
The new divisions should be based on the Karelian Isthmus — so that St. Petersburg is guaranteed to be protected from NATO member countries — and north of it, the expert believes.
Division and connection
The Leningrad Military District was abolished in 2010, when, as a result of its merger with the Moscow One, the Western Military District (VVO) was formed. At the time of the reform, LenVO was the smallest district. There was not only no combined arms army on its territory, but also no division. The ground forces were represented by only three brigades. At that time, the threat from the north-west direction was not considered significant.
The Western Military District includes three armies: the 6th combined arms in the north, the 1st Guards Tank in the center and the 20th combined arms in the south. In addition, the Baltic Fleet and specialized brigades of the district subordination were subordinate to the commander of the district troops. The entire western border of Russia was in the area of responsibility of the district.
Photo: TASS/Alexander Polegenko
Image source: iz.ru
It was decided to recreate the Moscow and Leningrad military districts in 2022 against the background of Finland and Sweden's aspirations to join NATO. Then the head of the Russian Defense Ministry, Sergei Shoigu, announced plans to divide the military district into two districts. And on December 19 last year, at the board of the military department, the minister said that the formation of these associations continues. He noted that this is being done in connection with Finland's accession to NATO and the upcoming admission of Sweden to the alliance.
The process of separation of the ZVO should be completed by March 1. After that, the Leningrad Military District will fend off threats from Finland, Sweden and the Baltic States, and the Moscow Military District will fend off threats from the Ukrainian direction.
After Finland and Sweden declared their desire to join NATO, Moscow began to actively strengthen the north-western borders. As Izvestia reported, it was decided to form a new combined arms army as part of the Northern Fleet. It will include motorized rifle brigades, regiments and divisions, whose personnel will be trained to conduct combat operations in the Arctic.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Vitaly Ankov
Image source: iz.ru
A new Air Force and air defense army has also been deployed in the western direction. It will consist of fighter and bomber regiments, as well as air defense units and radio engineering troops.
Also, the Western strategic direction is being strengthened by assault aviation units equipped with the famous "Rooks" — attack aircraft of the Su-25 family. Their task will be to directly support the ground forces on the battlefield. The attack aircraft will also interact with helicopters of the army aviation.
In addition, the military department is deploying naval aircraft and helicopters at Levashovo airfield near St. Petersburg. In addition to combat aircraft, it is planned to deploy passenger and transport aircraft and helicopters belonging to the naval aviation of the Navy.
Roman Kretsul
Alexey Mikhailov
Julia Leonova