In occupied Crimea, his self-proclaimed "head" Sergei Aksyonov began recruiting fighters because he was not sure that the Russian army could "protect" him.

This was reported by the British Ministry of Defense on the Web on May 26.

According to British intelligence, the number of paramilitary groups from regular armed forces has increased in Russia over the past 20 years. Such "paramilitarization" accelerated rapidly after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It is especially important for Russians in the occupied Crimea.

According to intelligence reports, Aksyonov played an important role in establishing several local Russian units on the peninsula, which often claim to belong to the Cossack tradition. Most members of these units have the semi-official status of reserve units of the regular Russian army.

"Aksyonov probably seeks to enhance his patriotic reputation by recruiting fighters, but he is probably also concerned about the ability of the regular army to defend the peninsula," British intelligence said in a statement.

In this context, they drew attention to the fact that the main part of the Russian garrison in Crimea – the 22nd Army Corps – today is mainly deployed outside the peninsula and suffers significant losses.

To recap, the head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov announced that with the first entry of the Armed Forces of Ukraine into the Crimea, the majority of the radically pro-Russian population would leave there.

It should be noted that as the deputy of the Lithuanian Seimas Laurinas Kaščiūnas informed, the Russian authorities invite children from the Russian Federation and other countries to Crimea to hide behind them as a "human shield" in the event of a Ukrainian counteroffensive. Subsequently, Ukraine called on other states not to send their children to the peninsula.

Read also:

  • Russian occupiers are looking for ways to escape from annexed Crimea - Humeniuk
  • In Crimea, the occupiers "nationalized" Zelensky's apartment and the building of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis
  • Drones over the Kremlin and Belgorod region: Zhdanov told how the war is transferred to the territory of the Russian Federation

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