Russia’s top brass re-announced the creation of rapid reaction forces, with overall numbers of up to 70,000, based upon the existing elite Airborne Forces (Vozdushno Desantnye Voyska—VDV). The idea of creating such a capability is hardly new, but the timing of its latest incarnation is interesting in that it coincides with the summer combat training period and the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. Sources in the General Staff indicated that the VDV will be wholly integrated into the new rapid-reaction force, but the timing of its completion was less than clear. The commander of the VDV, Colonel-General Vladimir Shamanov, envisages the …read more
Source: The Jamestown Foundation
