The Russian authorities are creating new volunteer territorial defense units in response to the ongoing Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region.
This shows that Vladimir Putin is reluctant to resist the offensive more broadly, for example by declaring a general mobilization, for fear of public discontent or the need for a large-scale redeployment of troops, which would disrupt Russia’s own offensive in eastern Ukraine, according to the think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
A report by ISW analysts notes that on August 29, Kursk Oblast Governor Aleksey Smirnov publicly announced the creation of a BARS-Kursk (BARS stands for Combat Reserve of the Russian Army) volunteer unit, stating that its main function will be to “ensure security” in the Kursk Oblast and border villages relocation in the uncertain future.
On Thursday, the General Staff of the Ukrainian military confirmed the loss of the first F-16 fighter and the death of its pilot. A special commission of the Ministry of Defense is appointed to find out the causes of the accident, which works in the area where the plane fell.
ISW assessed that the loss of equipment and aircraft during military operations is not a new phenomenon, so it was expected that sooner or later Kyiv would suffer the loss of these fighters as well.
Still, analysts stressed: “Any loss of Ukraine’s already limited number of Western-provided F-16 aircraft and trained pilots would have a significant impact on Ukraine’s ability to use the F-16 in the near future as part of a joint air defense system or in support of air-to-ground class actions.”
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2024-09-01 05:39:28