The British Defence Intelligence Agency reported that the Russian Guard (Rosgvardia) is beefing up its resources and personnel against the backdrop of turmoil in Russia's internal security caused by the war against Ukraine.
British Defence Intelligence Agency review dated 7 January on Twitter, as reported by European Pravda
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Έως και 500.000 στρατιώτες θα χάσει η Ρωσία μέχρι το τέλος του έτους εκτιμά το Βρετανικό ΥΠΕΞ
The department recalled that since October 2023, Rosgvardia has included units of the private military company Wagner, and on January 3, 2024, the Vostok battalion from the so-called Donetsk People's Republic.
British Defence Intelligence notes that Russian Federation is also making efforts to dismantle the Kaskad group, which specialises in the use of drones, to subordinate parts of it to the Russian Guard.
In addition, as the British intelligence service recalls, in July 2023, the State Duma of the Russian Federation allowed the Russian Guard to use heavier weapons.
"The new capabilities, along with augmenting them with experienced veterans from other groups, will likely represent a significant increase in combat effectiveness," the British defence intelligence service says.
In an earlier review, the UK Defence Intelligence Agency estimated that the downing of three Russian Su-34 fighter jets over southern Ukraine affected Russian operations on the left bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region.
British intelligence also reported that ground combat operations in Ukraine last week showed either a steady momentum in front-line operations or very gradual, localized advances by Russian forces in critical areas.
The Russian army is set to lose 500,000 troops within the next year, according to the UK Ministry of Defence.
The Foreign ministry added that Russia was averaging 300 military losses every day throughout 2023.
Specifically, the UK Foreign Office told X (formerlyTwitter), "The average daily number of Russian casualties in Ukraine increased by almost 300 during 2023. If numbers continue at the current rate next year, Russia will have lost over half a million personnel in Ukraine."
Russia is preparing mass production of drones
More than 32,000 drones a year Russia plans to produce by 2030, TASS reported citing First Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Belusov, who said the goal is for domestic producers to make up 70% of the market,
"Annual production of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) - excluding training UAVs - is planned to reach 32,500 units," Belusov told TASS. This number is "almost three times higher than the current production," he added, noting that "there are plans for Russian UAVs to make up 70 percent of the market."
Both Moscow and Kiev are widely using drones in the war that has erupted since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with both sides increasing their military production as the conflict drags on. Moscow, moreover, frequently uses Iranian-made Shahed drones.
Russia will finance this UAV production project with 696 billion rubles (about 7 billion euros) by 2030, Belusov noted, explaining that he will present more details on this project later this month.
