Russia’s motorized rifle division is being formed in Yelnya (Smolensk region), only 110 km from the Belarusian border. It is one of three new bodies of troops the formation of which was previously announced by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.
The division, a part of the 1st Guards Tank Army, will have been finally deployed by the middle of 2017, a source in the Russian General Staff told news agency TASS on Tuesday.
“The General Staff with the approval of the defense minister has made the final decision that the new Yelnya Motorized Rifle Division along with the Tamanskaya Motorized Rifle and Kantemirovskaya Tank Division will be part of the 1st Guards Tank Army,” the source said.
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The number of personnel of the division with the headquarters in Yelnya is expected to be be around 10,000 men. According to the source, the new formation will comprise three motorized rifle regimens and one armored regiment, a self-propelled artillery regiment and an anti-aircraft missile regiment, as well as support units.
As reported earlier, Russia also started establishing a military base in Klintsy in Bryansk region which shares borders with Homiel and Mahiliou regions of Belarus and Chernihiv and Sumy regions of Ukraine.
Read also: Russian military base close to Belarus needed to defend against Ukraine – envoy
