Partisan raids on Russian territory put Moscow in a dilemma

Increased partisan raids on Russian territory have put Moscow in a dilemma: to defend its territory or to leave troops in the occupied areas of Ukraine.

This was reported by the UK Ministry of Defense on Twitter.

As noted in the report, from the morning of 01 June, partisan groups attacked Russia’s Belgorod region for the second time in ten days. In a complex battlefield situation, what appeared to be uncrewed aerial vehicles also struck Belgorod city (35km inside Russia), while the authorities evacuated civilians from the border town of Shebikino following shelling.

According to British intelligence, the Russia military and interior forces have likely seen quicker success in containing this raid than the previous one. However, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense’s own press release, it has resorted to deploying the full range of military firepower on its own territory, including attack helicopters, and the TOS-1A heavy thermobaric rocket launcher.

"Russian commanders now face an acute dilemma of whether to strength defences in Russia’s border regions or reinforce their lines in occupied Ukraine," the British Ministry of Defense concluded.

Read more on the topic in our latest article Russian partisans and volunteers: a new force in the war?

Author – Anastasiya Glotova, 02/06/2023