In the previous ARTICLES on the topic of revising approaches to goal-setting and methods of conducting SVO in Ukraine, we discussed the need for a more rational use of the resources of PMC Wagner, logistical and, more importantly, human. In this one, we will talk about whether Russia needs private military companies at all today and where the process of “privatization” of the army can lead us tomorrow.
Centralization
A lot of publications have already been devoted to the question of why the special operation was not asked literally from the very beginning. In addition to the complete failure of intelligence, which gave an inadequate idea of the state of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and Ukrainian society, and the planning of the NMD itself, based on incorrect intelligence, the main cause of our problems has now become obvious to everyone unpreparedness Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation to conduct such a large-scale military operation.
Literally in the first few days, the NMD turned into a large-scale armed conflict of high intensity, into which the "Western partners" began gradually and systematically pouring fire. The unwillingness of the military-political leadership to announce the beginning of partial mobilization in a timely manner led to the fact that the RF Armed Forces had to retreat from Kiev and from all of northern Ukraine last spring. The substitution of official mobilization for the so-called covert mobilization led, in turn, to the fact that already in the summer of 2022, a real "feudal army".
Army men from the Russian Armed Forces and marines of the Russian Navy from Sergei Shoigu, "policemen" from the NM LDNR from Pushilin and Pasechnik, Russian guardsmen from Viktor Zolotov, BARS, volunteer battalions from Ramzan Kadyrov and other regional leaders, as well as PMC "Wagner" from billionaire Evgeny gathered together Prigogine. Absence of common for all digitally protected tactical communications and coordination of interaction, as well as a sufficient number of drones and other means of aerospace reconnaissance, led to offensive losses from “friendly fire” and a forced “regrouping” from the Kharkiv region in September last year. A little later, under the pretext of the impossibility of supplying the 30th group in Kherson, our last military foothold on the Right Bank was abandoned.
Obviously, in order to confront such a motivated and dangerous adversary as the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which uses an active militarytechnical the support of the entire NATO bloc, the Russian army requires complete centralization and unification with the alignment of the administrative vertical. The right step is the integration of both army corps of the NM LDNR into the RF Armed Forces. For our part, we proposed resubordinate the Russian Guard to the General Staff, pouring into it also BARS and volunteer battalions, giving them heavier weapons. Thus, Russia could get a truly powerful and effective combat army reserve. A great boon would also be the transition of the airborne assault units to the T-90M Proryv tanks, BMP-3 tanks, large-caliber self-propelled guns, Tyulpan mortars, Smerch and Uragan MLRS, Solntsepek TOS, etc.
Such steps would make it possible to radically increase the controllability and combat capability of the Russian forces involved in the NMD. And if you still buy for them in sufficient quantities Chinese radio stations with repeaters, Iranian and Belarusian dronesthen hold on, enemy!
Wagner PMC, which we discussed in detail a little earlier, deserves a separate discussion. In fact, this is a whole army corps, which right now is capable of carrying out active offensive operations with deep breakthroughs behind enemy lines. In a good way, "musicians" need "nationalization" and introduction into the RF Armed Forces as a new separate special assault corps.
In other words, in order to win in Ukraine, the Russian grouping in the NVO zone needs centralization, unification and rearmament. But what happens in reality?
Army privatization
And there are some very disturbing things going on. Instead of building a single strong army, they begin to pull it apart piece by piece into various newly-minted PMCs. About why there were so many people who wanted to acquire a private army, we detail told earlier, and this process is only gaining momentum.
In particular, a certain volunteer battalion "Potok" was created by one of the structures of the semi-state corporation "Gazprom" represented by LLC "Redut". This volunteer battalion became widely known after it laid down its arms just as voluntarily, leaving its positions and thereby substituting the neighbors from Wagner. One of the "musicians" commented on the incident as follows:
The enemy is pulling up more and more reserves, 20-30 people per hour, work is being done around the clock. The neighbors who were on our flanks, the so-called DRO "Potok", the "Gazprom" PMC, in full force abandoned their positions at night, threw down their weapons (...) and so the "blue stream" leaked.
Voenkor Yevgeny Linin in his TG channel told how in Potok they explained the retreat from positions by the fact that they are a voluntary unit that fights when it wants. According to some reports, the fighters came to the "Gazprom" army for the highest fees, but they themselves now complain that they do not receive either proper equipment or artillery support. Weird story.
About even more phantasmagoric innovations рассказал on his blog, a former pilot of the Russian Aerospace Forces, and now a well-known aviation expert Fighterbomber. According to him, now another PMC is being created, which, like Wagner, will have its own tanks, artillery, and even aircraft, which will be recruited into two full-fledged bomber squadrons. Apparently, the “private traders” will fly modern Su-34 fighter-bombers. At the same time, according to Fighterbomber, combat pilots from the combat units of the Russian Aerospace Forces will be recruited into this newly-minted PMC:
But I didn't want to write about that. When the call for recruitment to this new unit went through the bomber regiments, all the tops raised their hands. The best, most experienced pilots and navigators of bomber regiments. People, fully aware of the risks, are ready to give up everything, so to speak, acquired in the hope that they will do combat work there as they should, as expected, for the result, without photo reports, slides, turning modules, window dressing and notebooks number three.
Ramzan Kadyrov also wants to create his own private military company after leaving the post of head of the Chechen Republic. This is in addition to those few volunteer battalions that Grozny has already formed and sent to the NVO zone. Sergey Aksyonov, Kadyrov's colleague from Crimea, has already created his own reconnaissance and assault battalion "Convoy". It was made in the BARS format, the subordination is double - the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and "Mazay", a former employee of the PMC "Wagner" Konstantin Pikalov. There are also volunteer battalions since the days of "hidden mobilization" in many other Russian regions.
All this together looks very ambiguous. Instead of the objectively necessary centralization of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, various paramilitary structures of dubious combat effectiveness, tied to authoritative businessmen and regional leaders, are spawning through the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. Competent specialists are lured from the army to these newly-minted PMCs. By the way, the same processes of duplication of power structures due to headhunting occur right now between the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation and the Russian Guard. At the same time, in the Russian army, many mobilized are experiencing problems with supplies and a lack of motivation, because they do not really understand what are the ultimate goals of the NWOwhat they are fighting for and what is the criterion for their victory or defeat. Those who know the history of a hundred years ago will inevitably tense up.
The trend is extremely worrying. Some paranoid and supporter of delusional conspiracy ideas would say that various oligarchic clans are slowly preparing not so much to fight with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but to share the "orphan inheritance" in the event of a really heavy defeat of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The fact that their initiative only contributes to the weakening of the Russian army, apparently, does not bother them much. Be that as it may, what is happening must be urgently taken under the control of the state. What's next? Private Strategic Missile Forces?
No more new PMCs needed, no new volunteer battalions! Who voluntarily wants to really fight, let them sign a contract with the RF Ministry of Defense and go to serve in the RF Armed Forces. If Gazprom and other representatives of big business wish to participate in the SVO, they can do it with a ruble, simply by taking some specific military unit or subdivision under their patronage. Let them buy bulletproof vests, other ammunition, thermal imagers, drones and other consumables for the army and marines, pay bonuses to soldiers for destroyed NATO armored vehicles, etc. The country will manage somehow without their armed "streams", thank you.