Rondeli Russian Military Digest

Rondeli Russian Military Digest is a weekly brief that reports key activities by and developments within the armed forces of the Russian Federation. Researchers, civil servants and everyone else interested in what is going on in the military of one of the most dangerous nations on the planet – tune in and enjoy.

You can see all issues of Rondeli Russian Military Digest at this page. For your convenience, we have added the Digest Content Search that helps users find the digest’s issues containing information they need using key words and phrases.

For a comprehensive geographic view of the Russian military structure see our Interactive Map of the Russian Military Forces.

Geostrategic Activities

Following requests of Moldova’s new president Maia Sandu for the Russian troops based in the breakaway Transnistria region to withdraw from the sovereign Moldovan territory, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov responded: “We shall hardly be able to accept a rather irresponsible demand like this.” Russia has about 1,500 troops stationed in Moldova’s Transnistria region.

Russian troops deployed to Nagorno-Karabakh have officially gained control over the five-kilometer wide Lachin corridor that remains the only transport connection between Armenia and the Armenian-controlled portion of Nagorno-Karabakh, following the Armenian-Azerbaijani war in the fall of 2020.

War in Libya – According to the U.S. Defense Department’s Inspector General, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is financing activities of the Russian Wagner group mercenaries in Libya.

War in Syria – Russian air strikes in the Idlib region were reported on 1 December 2020. Meanwhile, U.S. Army’s deployment of M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles to the north-eastern Syria has reportedly resulted in lowering tensions with Russian troops in the area that in the past used to be a scene of frequent road incidents between the two powers’ militaries.

War in Ukraine – One Ukrainian soldier was wounded by the Russian hybrid forces on the Donbass frontline on 4 December 2020.

The British Royal Navy reported increased recent activity of the Russian naval vessels near the coasts of Britain. The Russian ships in question included the Northern Fleet’s Udaloy I / Project 1155 Fregat class anti-submarine destroyer Vice-Admiral Kulakov, the Black Sea Fleet’s Improved Kilo / Project 636.3 class diesel submarine Stary Oskol and Project 22160 class large patrol ship Vasily Bykov, the Baltic Fleet’s Steregushchiy / Project 20380 class corvette Boikiy, and several support ships.

British frigate Lancaster shadows Russian corvette Boikiy

The Pacific Fleet’s flagship, Slava / Project 1164 Atlant class guided missile cruiser Varyag and Udaloy I / Project 1155 Fregat class anti-submarine destroyer Admiral Panteleyev, on a long-range expedition in the Indo-Pacific region since 1 November 2020, visited Sri Lanka on 30 November-3 December, before proceeding to the Bay of Bengal.

Structural Changes

A mechanized division will be established in Kaliningrad Oblast in 2021, under the Baltic Fleet’s 11th Army Corps. Information in the Russian media indicates that the new division will primarily consist of the 11th Army Corps’s presently existing forces, although it is suggested that the number of the 11th Corps’s maneuver battalions will increase.

Russia has stationed S-300V4 surface-to-air missile systems on the Iturup/Etorofu Island, one of the disputed Kuril Islands. Japan has lodged a protest in response. While it is not specified in the Russian information what unit these systems belong to, they are likely to be a part of the Eastern Military District’s 38th Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade (Birobidzhan, Jewish Autonomous Oblast).

Russia has stationed MiG-31BM interceptors at the air base in Anadyr, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. The planes belong to the Pacific Fleet’s Naval Aviation and likely a part of the 317th Mixed Aviation Regiment (Yelizovo air base, Kamchatka Krai).

A new 81st Military Transport Aviation Regiment was established at the Severny air base in Ivanovo, Ivanovo Oblast, on 1 December 2020. The new regiment belongs to the 12th Military Transport Aviation Division (HQ in Tver) of the Military Transport Aviation Command (HQ in Moscow). It is equipped with Il-76MD strategic airlifters, but is intended to receive new Il-76MD-90A aircraft in the future.

The regiment establishment ceremony in Ivanovo

Also on 1 December, a new mixed aviation squadron was established at the Plesetsk air base in Mirny, Arkhangelsk Oblast. The squadron belongs to the 566th Military Transport Aviation Regiment (Seshcha air base, Bryansk Oblast), 12th Military Transport Aviation Division (HQ in Tver) of the Military Transport Aviation Command (HQ in Moscow). The squadron is equipped with An-26 transport aircraft, Mi-8 helicopters and Orlan UAVs.

Rearmament and Modernization

The 90th Tank Division (HQ in Chebarkul, Chelyabinsk Oblast) of the 41st Army (HQ in Novosibirsk) has received its first batch of eight Terminator armored fighting vehicles.

The Terminator AFVs

The 185th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment (Beryozovsky, Sverdlovsk Oblast), which belongs to the 76th Air Defense Division (HQ in Samara) of the 14th Air and Air Defense Forces Army (HQ in Yekaterinburg), has completed its transfer from the S-300PS to the S-400 surface-to-air missile systems.

Russians say they are testing the S-70 Okhotnik type UAV in the role of an interceptor.

The 205th Mechanized Brigade (Budyonnovsk, Stavropol Krai) of the 49th Army (HQ in Stavropol) received 30 of the new 9K333 Verba man-portable air-defense systems (MANPADS) and ten Strela-10MN short-range surface-to-air missile systems.

Space

A Soyuz-2.1b rocket started from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome on 3 December 2020, delivering the Russian Defense Ministry’s “nanosized” military satellite ERA-1, also designated Cosmos-2548.

Exercises*

Naval forces of the Black Sea Fleet and the Baltic Fleet conducted large-scale exercises in their respective areas. According to the Russians, all vessels of the Black Sea Fleet that were present at their bases engaged in the drills. On the Baltic Fleet, 50 vessels have reportedly participated in the exercise.

The Pacific Fleet’s flagship, Slava / Project 1164 Atlant class guided missile cruiser Varyag and Udaloy I / Project 1155 Fregat class anti-submarine destroyer Admiral Panteleyev, on a long-range expedition in the Indo-Pacific region since 1 November 2020, conducted a joint exercise with India’s navy in the Bay of Bengal.