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Rondeli Russian Military Digest

Rondeli Russian Military Digest: Issue 110, 29 November - 5 December 2021

Author: David Batashvili, Research Fellow at the Rondeli Foundation

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

U.S. intelligence warned about the threat of a Russian offensive against Ukraine in early 2022 involving around 175,000 troops. American sources confirmed the information regarding continued arrivals of Russian forces and equipment to various locations along the border with Ukraine. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken referred to “evidence that Russia has made plans for significant aggressive moves against Ukraine.” Blinken also said that "in recent weeks, Russia has stepped up planning for potential military action in Ukraine, including positioning tens of thousands of additional combat forces near the Ukrainian border." The Americans have also discovered that, besides deploying combat forces, the Russians were establishing military supply lines on the border of Ukraine “that could sustain a drawn-out conflict.” Evidence presented by the U.S. intelligence reportedly convinced America’s European allies as well that there was a real threat of a Russian attack on Ukraine.

War in Ukraine – One Ukrainian military service member was killed and four were wounded by the Russian hybrid forces on the Donbas frontline during the week of 29 November-5 December 2021.

War in Syria – Russian artillery reportedly shelled targets in the Syrian rebel-held Idlib region on 30 November 2021.

The opening of a representative office of the Russian Ministry of Defense was announced to be planned in Serbia’s capital Belgrade in near future.

Russian Su-30 and Su-27 fighters reportedly intercepted two U.S. military planes over the Black Sea on 3 December 2021.

The Northern Fleet’s Udaloy I / Project 1155 Fregat class anti-submarine destroyer Vice-Admiral Kulakov, operating in the Atlantic Ocean since 23 September 2021, returned to the Northern Fleet’s base in Severomorsk on 1 December.

 

Structural Changes

A new air defense unit armed with Pantsir-S medium-range air defense systems was created near Khabarovsk in the Eastern Military District.

According to Russian reports, Bastion-P mobile coastal defense missile systems of the Pacific Fleet began to serve on the Matua Island, in the northern part of the Kuril Islands. In fact, existence of Bastion-P systems on the Matua Island had been reported by Russian sources back in 2019, and shown accordingly on the Rondeli Foundation’s Interactive Map of the Russian Military Forces. Matua also reportedly hosts a Russian air base.

Russian forces on the Matua Island

A new squadron of Il-76MD strategic airlifters was established within the 117th Military Transport Aviation Regiment (Orenburg-2 air base, Orenburg Oblast) of the 18th Military Transport Aviation Division (HQ in Orenburg), the Military Transport Aviation Command (HQ in Moscow). Other forces of the 117th Regiment are also equipped with the Il-76MD planes.

 

Rearmament and Modernization

A company in one of the tank regiments of the 90th Tank Division (HQ and three tank regiments in Chebarkul, Chelyabinsk Oblast) of the 41st Army (HQ in Novosibirsk) has been armed with nine Terminator armored fighting vehicles.

The 1174th Anti-Tank Battalion (Kalininets, Moscow Oblast) of the 2nd Mechanized Division (HQ in Kalininets), the 1st Tank Army (HQ in Bakovka, Moscow Oblast) began rearmament with Khrizantema-S self-propelled anti-tank guided missile systems instead of Shturm-S systems.

Khrizantema-S

 

Space

According to General David Thompson, the first vice chief of space operations of the U.S. Space Force, “both China and Russia are regularly attacking U.S. satellites with non-kinetic means, including lasers, radio frequency jammers and cyber attacks.”

 

Exercises*

Russian Defense Ministry reported over 10,000 troops of the Southern Military District launching simultaneous drills in various areas covered by the District, including occupied Crimea, Ukraine.

Simultaneous exercises of the Western Military District’s sniper units were launched in Belgorod, Bryansk, Smolensk and Voronezh Oblasts.

Troops of the Black Sea Fleet’s 810th Naval Infantry Brigade (Sevastopol, occupied Crimea, Ukraine) held an exercise.

Russia and seven of the ASEAN countries held their first joint naval exercise near northern Sumatra in Indonesia. Russian navy was represented by the Pacific Fleet‘s Udaloy I / Project 1155 Fregat class anti-submarine destroyer Admiral Panteleyev.

 

*The weekly number of exercises in the Russian armed forces is very large. Therefore, all cannot be included in this digest. The exercises that are included are selected by the author for their strategic significance, particularly large scale, involvement of numerous units and locations, and/or involvement of other nations’ territories under the Russian occupation.

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