Russian National Guard is undergoing wider expansion of heavy weaponry, says MOD
The Russian National Guard is undergoing a "wider expansion" of its forces, according to a recent UKintelligence update from the UK Ministry of Defence.
Known as Rosgvardiya, the National Guard has "established tank units as part of a wider expansion of its heavy weaponry", says its director, Viktor Zolotov, a former bodyguard for President Putin.
The creation of tank units has been called a "marked militarisation", improving its ability to deal with threats to Putin's "regime security".
The Russian News Agency TASS reported Chief Zolotov as saying "the firepower of artillery has increased significantly".
"For the first time, tank and anti-tank guns, self-propelled artillery pieces, multiple launch rocket systems have been put into service," he said.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly in New York two days after the UK intelligence information was released, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Russian president Vladimir Putin "will keep driving the war forward wider and deeper" if he is not stopped.
Mr Zelensky called on world powers to work together to stop Russia's war in his country, accusing Mr Putin of seeking to expand the fighting beyond Ukraine.
What is the Rosgvardiya?
Rosgvardiya, the Russian National Guard, has around 400,000 personnel that report directly to President Putin.
It was established in 2016, two years after Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.
Its primary purpose is to provide domestic security to protect Mr Putin's "regime security", but it is not part of Russia's Ministry of Defence.
The Rosgvardiya has deployed units to Ukraine, playing an important role in rear-security operations. Some units have also participated in frontline combat, despite being ill-suited for the intense fighting, according to the MOD.
In August 2023, the decision to strengthen the force with heavy weapons was signed into law by President Putin.
It followed a mutiny by fighters from the Wagner Group in June 2023. They are a private military company backed by Russian state support and were central to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
During the fighting, their founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, repeatedly criticised Russia's army chief, Valery Gerasimov, and defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, for under-supplying Wagner Group troops, many of whom were killed or injured.
Viktor Zolotov claimed his force performed "excellently" during the mutiny but, according to the MOD, there is no evidence that Rosgvardiya carried out any effective action against the Wagner Group, despite it being the sort of internal security threat it was designed to repress.
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