Russia’s army has shaped a mechanized assault group, codenamed “Fregat,” utilizing the crew of its solely plane provider, the Admiral Kuznetsov, in accordance with a report from Militarnyi.
In response to the report, the battalion consists of personnel from army unit No. 78987.
The formation of this battalion has raised questions on Russia’s ongoing personnel shortages within the battle. Initially deployed within the Kharkiv area, the “Fregat” battalion has since been relocated to the Pokrovsk path.
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The battalion’s position within the battle turned extra evident after it was revealed that one of many sailors from the Admiral Kuznetsov had gone lacking in July throughout an assault on the border village of Sotnytskyi Kozachok in Kharkiv. The sailor, additionally from unit No. 78987, was by no means discovered.
The Admiral Kuznetsov, Russia’s solely plane provider, has been out of operation since 2017, present process intensive repairs after its deployment off the coast of Syria. The restore course of has been suffering from a number of incidents, together with the sinking of a drydock in 2018, which broken the provider’s deck, and a big hearth on board in 2019 that injured a number of crew members. Initially scheduled to return to service by 2024, the timeline for finishing the repairs has since been prolonged.
Russia has additionally been forming infantry items from the personnel of its Aerospace Forces, a transfer acknowledged by Russian propagandist Ilya Tumanov, who runs the Fighter Bomber channel on Telegram. Tumanov confirmed that these items are engaged in fight operations close to Kursk.
The deployment of the “Fregat” battalion and different unconventional army formations means that Russia continues to face challenges in sustaining its manpower for ongoing operations, notably within the protracted warfare in Ukraine.
