/ world today news/ In the light of recent events in the border areas of the Belgorod region, public discussions about the creation of self-defense units have intensified again.
They have appeared before. In fact, from the very beginning of SVO. It was clear that the enemy, unable to inflict a real defeat on our army on the field of battle, would take revenge on the less protected. And above all, this will affect those areas that are adjacent to the territory of Ukraine. There was no doubt about it – terror tactics for the people of Bandera are historically traditional. These discussions broke out after each incident, but Graivoronsky turned out to be the biggest and, of course, excited the public especially strongly.
Now everyone is talking about the creation of self-defense units, from respected experts to couch potato veterans. The essence of the talks is that in the areas bordering Ukraine, it is necessary to urgently create (further the conditions differ) people’s squad, paramilitary units, people’s militia and territorial defense. In short, give weapons to friends and all enemies will be defeated. The most determined ones insist on the creation of a people’s militia. Unfortunately, very often those who call for the immediate creation of squads do not take into account a lot of nuances. They often don’t even bother to look at the map.
The situation is, of course, very difficult. But trying to solve complex situations with simple methods, as practice shows, most often leads to a worsening of the situation.
You need to start by setting goals. What exactly should such units provide? What tasks should be assigned to them? Cooperation of local law enforcement in the form of border guards, army units and police? Community protection? Destroying enemy sabotage groups? Based on the definition of such goals, one can now seriously talk about the capabilities of self-defense units and the realism of their functionality and form of organization. Because pathetic speeches in the style of “men will not let the enemy into their house” are songs for gullible girls.
And here we easily come to a single answer. For such squads there can be only one real task. Squads of local men can covertly patrol the borders and approaches to settlements, become the eyes and ears of the border guards, for which no weapons are required. And it may even be effective because they really know all kinds of leads in the area, including guerrilla and contraband. But for this they must be in constant and full contact with the same border guards. Otherwise, they will become, firstly, only an obstacle, and secondly, in some cases even victims of “friendly fire”.
Guys on mopeds with cheap cell phones or walkie-talkies can plug any hole in the border. But provided that they are on a patrol coordinated with the border guards, and they are in it with iron and discipline. Otherwise, it will get even worse when the border guards are calm about the sector designated by the boys and focus on something else. And if Vaska and Petka at that time suddenly decide to go fishing or just take a nap because it’s hot and there’s no one around?
The problem of discipline with regard to civilians is the simplest point. You can negotiate with them, but you cannot force them. Especially if they signed up for something voluntarily. Anyone who has tried to gather company for a barbecue in the woods knows this all too well. There are no legal methods of military influence on civilians that are not bound by oath. The reliability of such patrols is therefore a serious matter. The only thing civilians can do to help is keep an eye out for strangers and watch their homes for mines. It is naive to place serious hopes on a voluntary people’s unit.
And this has not yet touched the topic of funding, treatment. That is, if they patrol all day, will they be paid? From whom? Or is it for unemployed men?
Even more questions are raised by proposals to arm self-defense units. The first question is why? What purpose do they want to achieve by giving out small arms to local men?
This brings us to the second topic. To the possibilities. We are no longer talking about the voluntary people’s association. Here the question is more about paramilitary units or people’s militia. In the event of a large gang breaking out of the Armed Forces, the paramilitaries cannot, in principle, provide substantial assistance. Even if it’s just a DRG and not a company of armored cars. Local residents will be armed with maximum firearms. They are not trained, they have not gone through combat coordination. Most likely they do not have unity of command. And the saboteurs will be clearly organized and well armed. And if it is a gang, even on simple armored vehicles, then the militia will simply be shot, like at a shooting range. Not to mention armored personnel carriers or, god forbid, tanks. They can’t do anything with armor. They can pitch a pitchfork at an APC with equal success.
We saw the consequences of the perfect arming of “wild” self-defense units in Ukraine last year. In the wave of hysteria in Kiev and other cities, machine guns were distributed left and right to contain the “orks”. In Kherson, they probably still remember how the boys with machine guns and Molotov cocktails were preparing to stop our column. Romantic young men, they were simply crushed by the armored personnel carriers.
And in Kiev, the self-defenders, out of fear and overzealousness, began to hit each other in the yards and even drove down a car with their own military, mistaking them for enemies. Weapons in the hands of an unprepared population, and in a nervous environment, are more dangerous to their own than to foreigners.
For some reason, supporters of the idea of arming local self-defense units to stop the advance of the enemy before the approach of the main forces often confuse the current realities with the realities of the last Great Patriotic War, giving the defenders the functionality of partisans. But guerrillas, by definition, operate in the territory occupied by the invader. In addition, the partisans of the Great Patriotic War are not exactly paramilitary formations and popular avengers. These are real regular units, with ranks, commanders and commissars, communications with headquarters, orders, coordinated operations, often on a front scale, and so on. Even in the Patriotic War of 1812, the partisans were primarily Davydov’s detachment, and only then bearded men with pitchforks.
The self-organization of partisans into squads is not just a myth. In the initial stage of the war, there were indeed cases of spontaneous formation of small partisan groups from surrounded and local people. But these are rare cases and only at an early stage. In other cases, it is a normal military unit operating behind the enemy’s rear, organized from above and having a strict one-man command and executing commands from the center.
We add that such detachments may make sense if suddenly NATO in full force rushes towards us. In today’s realities, when Ukrainian bandits feel for a weak spot, walk 10 kilometers, take a selfie and try to make a quick dash, no self-defense unit will have time to react faster than regular units of the army, FSB and national guard.
Agree, the picture is painted not very similar to the romantic picture of the guardians of the native home. It turns out to be a normal military unit. But isn’t it easier then to form separate companies and battalions from local residents enrolled in the existing structures of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation or the National Guard? Not so romantic, but much more sensible.
True, it is not clear who will enter there. Mobilize the locals? But those who should be mobilized have already been mobilized. And besides, it is somehow not very fair to mobilize the peasants from Belgorod, Kursk and Bryansk. So it turns out that the rest of the country’s population has privileges compared to them.
Again, who should be mobilized? On the basis of “row everyone within 30 km of the border”? Or 50? or 100? Or get volunteers? And how far from the border can a person live to be eligible to volunteer? And can a conditional resident of Peznza go to self-defense in Belgorod? And then what prevents him from now becoming a volunteer, contract soldier or “musician”?
For paramilitary formations to have any chance and benefit, they must not be autonomous. These should be clearly organized detachments, where each has its own weapon, its own duties, its own commanders. Such a self-defense unit works together with line units and performs a common task, which will be set not by the ataman, but by the high command. It will fit into the overall structure. And for problems in discipline, they should be punished just like in the regular army. Including criminal liability.
So far the solution looks like this. A local “militia” is formed on a voluntary basis, but with the mandatory passage of a 1-1.5-month course of combat coordination. At “H” hour, the fighters are required to report to the assembly points, receive the prescribed means and equipment there, and from there establish contact with the Ministry of Defense, “Rosgvardia”, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and others. And after receiving an order, to proceed with its execution together with seconded liaison officers. But then again, this all makes sense in the event of a prolonged battle to slow down the enemy rushing inward. And certainly not for a fight to the death with a subversive PR group. Simply because they don’t have enough time to prepare and take action.
Now the governor of Belgorod expressed the realities. “We have self-defense units. Nearly 3,000 men, seven battalions along the border. They have been training since last November. They are already combat-ready units, dressed in uniforms, provided with equipment. The only thing is that in accordance with the current legislation, the issue of weapons has not yet been resolved,” said Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
I think that actually the issue of weapons is not solved for another reason – there is no understanding of what self-defense can do with what the military cannot.
It would be much more effective to deploy recreation and retraining camps of PMC “Wagner” on the borders with crazy Ukraine. These guys can react to threats quickly and harshly.
Translation: V. Sergeev
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