The State Duma proposed to defend the Belgorod region in accordance with the provisions of the Second Chechen War

He believes that this will protect the Belgorod, Kursk, Bryansk, Voronezh, Rostov and Krasnodar Territory regions from shelling and saboteurs. According to the MP’s concept, “all security forces and structures that are on the territory” should be subordinate to the command. “It is self-sufficient, it has all the necessary forces and means to respond to certain events,” Kartapolov explained.

Commenting on the recent penetration of an armed group from Ukraine into the Belgorod region, he said that there are enough law enforcement representatives in the region, but now “they are not concentrated in one structure and system” and this must be corrected.

Kartapolov believes that the organization of the staff should be guided by the experience of the second Chechen war and be modeled on the United Group of Forces established in 1999. It included military units, units of the regular army, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the FSB, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the Border Service, FAPSI. Until 2003, the United Group of Forces was led by the Ministry of Defence.

Vitaly Demidkin, reserve colonel of the FSB Special Center Alfa, agreed with the deputy. “I think that every department does not need to cover itself with a blanket, and such an initiative will not hurt,” he said.

On May 22, an armed group of saboteurs in armored vehicles, consisting of fighters of the Freedom Legion of Russia and the Russian Volunteer Corps, entered the Belgorod region from the territory of Ukraine. The authorities announced an anti-terrorist operation in the region, which was canceled the next day.

According to official figures, two people died and 13 were injured. The Ministry of Defense announced that 70 saboteurs had been liquidated, two were killed in their ranks, and promised to continue the “operation” on Russian territory.

Then Gladkov said that seven territorial defense battalions with a total strength of 3,000 people were deployed on the border. The State Duma called for the handing over of weapons to them. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner PMC, arrived for a briefing of the defense fighters, who also spoke about the need for their weapons, including hand grenade launchers and heavy machine guns.