Paranoid Putin bolsters national guard to 350,000 over coup fear
Rosgvardia forces near the Kremlin in Moscow
RUSSIAN President Vladimir Putin is so worried about internal security that his national guard is now five times the size of the British Army.
The Rosgvardia Russian National Guard has been boosted by former Wagner mercenaries to 350,000, compared to the UK’S 73,000 troops.
Soldiers of the Rosgvardia are also equipped with heavier weapons and armour, unlike conventional forces in Russia’s military.
In June last year, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin led a march on Moscow, staging an attempted coup because he was angry about the lack of support his forces in Ukraine had been given by defence bosses.
Since then, Putin has increased the numbers in the Rosgvardia so any other attempted coup can be thwarted quickly.
Before Prigozhin’s forces reached Moscow, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko brokered a deal to end the rebellion.
Prigozhin went into exile along with other Wagner members in Belarus, but two months later he was among 10 people killed when a private jet crashed, believed downed by Russian forces.
One intelligence source told
Prigozhin paid price for attempted coup
the
Mirror: “The Rosgvardia has a kind of elite unit within it that is aimed at directly protecting Putin.
“And in some ways they are replacing the Wagner Group, which was once Putin’s loyal private army.
“The achievements of Wagner in Ukraine led to Prigozhin becoming too big for his boots and Putin wanted him eliminated. The National Guard will ensure nothing like the so-called ‘march on Moscow’ happens again, during very trying times for Russia.”
Russians are getting increasingly frustrated amid challenging times caused by the cost of Putin’s war against Ukraine.
Our source said: “There are faltering living standards, an increased cost of living, the consequences of even deeper economic sanctions and impending public resistance to further military call-ups.
“I believe Putin has yet again created his own private army that can be used flexibly to stamp out any kind of insurrection.”
A recent report published by the UK’S Ministry of Defence claimed the expansion of the Russian Guard was due to “the upheaval in Russia’s internal security caused by the war in Ukraine”.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin
Rosgvardia has an elite unit aimed at directly protecting Putin
FORMER UK INTELLIGENCE SOURCE ON PUTIN FORCES