russia scares its people with "Ukraine's invasion" to burnish patriotic feeling – UK intelligence
Фото: Ілюстративне
To awaken patriotic feelings among russian citizens, russia began to intimidate the population with the invasion by Ukraine and expand defensive positions along the Ukrainian border, inside the country, and in the temporarily occupied territories.
Rubryka reports, referring to the intelligence report of the UK Ministry of Defense as of December 7.
The report indicates that statements about defense preparations may display a genuine, albeit false, belief among some russian leaders that there is a real threat of an invasion by Ukrainian forces.
British intelligence officials point out that the lack of strategic assessment is one of the most critical flaws in russia's central government architecture. And the initial decision to invade Ukraine on a full scale only highlighted the problem more.
"Impartial official analysis is almost certainly frequently undermined by a tendency toward group-think and politically expedient conclusions," the intelligence emphasized.
Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine – 07 December 2022
Find out more about the UK government's response: https://t.co/9mTBxnDJgn
🇺🇦 #StandWithUkraine 🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/yZiVwexzFV
— Ministry of Defence 🇬🇧 (@DefenceHQ) December 7, 2022
In addition, British intelligence officers note that on December 6, the russian federation announced the formation of several territorial defense battalions in the Belgorod region.
Since April, there have been reports of digging trenches in the region. However, the report emphasizes that the new fortifications will likely be more sophisticated systems designed to repel a mechanized attack.
"There is a realistic possibility that the Russian authorities are promoting defensive preparations within internationally recognized Russian territory to burnish patriotic feeling," British intelligence officers emphasize.
russian army's defense preparation
At the end of October, the owner of the Wagner military company, evgeny prigozhin, announced that his team was building fortifications—"Wagner's Line." This line is being built on the borders of Luhansk and partially Donetsk regions and within them. The main area of responsibility is his group.
Subsequently, the governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, announced that they began to install "defensive structures" in russia's Belgorod region.
According to British intelligence, establishing this "Wagner Line" means that russia is preparing for defense in depth behind the current front line.
Later, prigozhin announced the creation of "People's Militia" Training and Management Centers in the Kursk and Belgorod regions.
