Russia strengthens army with Udmurts to avoid general mobilization, ISW
Udmurt authorities are creating new formations for the war in Ukraine (Photo: Getty Images)
The Russian Federation is trying to expand the combat power of the army without holding a general mobilization. The Udmurt authorities are creating irregular formations to strengthen the front line in Ukraine, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The Institute's latest report notes that on December 7, the head of the Udmurt Republic, Alexander Brechalov, announced the creation of four new formations in the region. These are the Yevgeny Dragunov anti-aircraft missile battalion, the Cheptsa anti-aircraft missile division, the Varmun motorized battalion, and the Kama airborne assault division. These units will soon be deployed to Ukraine to take part in combat operations.
According to Brechalov, the Udmurts manned these new units after signing unspecified contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry.
"These units appear to be Russian irregular formations with unknown strengths that likely do not correspond with the doctrinal end strengths of their reported echelons. Authorities in the Republic of Udmurtia are likely recruiting local volunteers to staff these units to immediately reinforce the frontlines in Ukraine," the ISW report says.
Meanwhile, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced an additional simplification of the procedure for issuing certificates to participants in a full-scale war against Ukraine.
On December 8, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that Russian soldiers will no longer need to apply for a veteran's certificate, as the department will automatically issue these certificates based on the information already available about the combatant.
"The simplification of this procedure may be part of an ongoing Russian formalization effort that seeks to reestablish Russia’s administrative control over irregular forces involved in the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine," ISW reports.
Russia recruits foreigners for the war in Ukraine
Russian intermediaries are recruiting and selling Nepalese citizens to serve in the Russian army and participate in hostilities against Ukraine.
The Nepalese police detained ten people who were selling tourist visas to unemployed people for a high price and then sent them for illegal recruitment into the Russian army.
In addition, Moscow wants to send illegal migrants who ended up in Russia because of provocations on the Russian-Finnish border to participate in the war against Ukraine.
Read about the current situation on the frontline in RBC-Ukraine's author's material.
