News Feed

UK Defense Ministry: Russia's top proxy in Crimea likely concerned about the military's ability to defend it

1 min read

Russia-installed proxy in occupied Crimea Sergei Aksyonov is likely concerned about the ability of the regular forces to defend the peninsula in case of a Ukrainian counteroffensive, the U.K. Defense Ministry reported on May 26.

Russia's 22nd Army Corps, responsible for Crimea’s defense, has been mostly deployed outside of the peninsula and has taken heavy casualties, according to the report.

The U.K. Defense Ministry said that Aksyonov, installed by Moscow in 2014, set up a number of paramilitary groups in Crimea affiliated with the tradition of Cossacks. "Most have been given some semi-official status as reserve units of the regular army," the ministry said.

While Russia has experienced growth of paramilitary groups for the past 20 years, the invasion of Ukraine has sharply accelerated the process, with Ukraine's occupied Crimea becoming an important focal point, the U.K. Defense Ministry added.

With heavy losses among the Russian regular armed forces, the Kremlin is increasingly dependent on paramilitary troops, such as the Wagner mercenary group.

Army of hired guns: How Russia’s ‘PMCs’ are becoming the main invasion force
Private armies are illegal in Russia, so naturally, Moscow has been using them for decades. Now, it’s making them the main invasion force. The rate at which Russia creates new private military company-like units sped up after 2014 but it really took off during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine,
Article image
Video thumbnail
Avatar
The Kyiv Independent news desk

We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.

Read more
News Feed

"The stolen data includes confidential questionnaires of the company's employees, and most importantly, full technical documentation on the production of drones, which was handed over to the relevant specialists of the Ukrainian Defense Forces," a source in Ukraine's military intelligence told the Kyiv Independent.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban called upon the EU to take action against Ukraine's conscription practices in an interview with Origo published on July 15, amid an ongoing dispute with Kyiv over the death of a Ukrainian conscript of Hungarian ethnicity.

Show More