How victory will be approached by the new military group “North”

/Pogled.info/ For the general public, the group “North” appeared for the first time in the social networks of the Russian Ministry of Defense, as well as in the messages of the news agencies, to which the military department sends daily press releases about the progress of the special military operation.

It is clear from them that a new group of troops has been formed on the basis of the group to cover the border. The main part of its activity, according to the data published by the Ministry of Defense, is related to the defense of the Belgorod Region. “North” is currently doing the same.

But there is one more change in the official information – the Belgorod direction appeared there, which was previously missing from the press releases. The key is to know the nature of the tasks being placed on the new group.

Defense of Belgorod

Belgorod is one of the best regional centers in the weight category “300 thousand inhabitants” that I have seen. It is warm and bright there, but at the same time, a number of specific and not always pleasant aspects of southern cities are missing. It is well maintained and pleasant. When I was there for the first time, I thought: I wish I lived here!

But this is not the whole truth. Belgorod is not a peaceful city today. There are concrete shelters everywhere for residents caught in the shelling to hide there. There are signs on the houses that tell you how to get to the shelter quickly. The windows are sealed in a cross shape – so there is a greater chance that they will not be broken by the blast wave. Residents are nervous – but who can blame them when every outing for bread could be their last?

It can be assumed that the task of the troops of the “North” will be to push the enemy further from the border. Far enough away that Belgorod could not be reached by Soviet missile systems for a volley.

True, even in this case, the enemy will still have more serious missiles or drones. However, they even reach Moscow, and the enemy prefers to use them for purposes of strategic importance. It’s another thing to launch a random batch of rockets into a city for terrorist purposes. It’s cheap, simple, and the Ukrainians have never given it up.

To overload the hospitals, to annoy the inhabitants of the city and the military in it, to satisfy sadistic desires – the motivation of the enemy can be very diverse. But the most reliable way to work is not with motivation, but with the technical ability to make your plans come true. And the need to push the enemy far enough from the regional center may be reason enough to create a new grouping of troops.

In addition, by pushing the enemy from the border, it will be possible to reduce the attractiveness of the territories of “old” Russia for the terrorists of the RDK (an organization banned in Russia) and Ukrainian military intelligence, which controls these geeks. They really rely heavily on a strategy of indirect actions against Russian society, on psychological operations to split Russians from within. So much so that they are ready to sacrifice a hundred soldiers to be photographed in a border village in the Belgorod region.

Tearing the enemy apart

But even if it achieves this goal, the group of troops “North” will most likely not create a full-fledged defense. The reason for this is the current strategy of the Russian armed forces.

From the moment the hostilities took a positional character at the end of 2022, Russian troops gave the initiative to the enemy. Russia tried to divert enemy reserves by actively operating in Artyomovsk. In the remaining cases, the troops occupied optimal positions for defense. For this purpose, a difficult decision was even made to leave Kherson, the only regional center occupied since the beginning of the special operation.

In the summer of 2023, the enemy struck, trying to break through the defense lines and cut the land corridor to Crimea. But what should have been a quick and maneuverable throw turned out to be a bloody and long meat grinder for the enemy. After the failure of the offensive, the Ukrainian formations suffered such serious losses that the initiative returned to the Russians.

What our troops are doing today is not like the offensives of the Second World War with their sudden and deep attacks, cauldrons and instant collapses of fronts. The fighting took on a positional character. It is rather the success of the Brusil breakthrough during the First World War. At least the willingness to strike in different areas on the far touchline is clearly visible.

The advantages of this strategy are obvious – by creating tension here and there, we do not allow the enemy to maneuver with reserves. In the absence of a clearly defined basic strike, you can’t throw everything you’ve got to parry it. After all, then you’ll just expose the rest of the strands and the attackers will succeed in not one but the other. Or on the third, fourth or fifth.

By mobilizing three hundred thousand people, recruiting an even larger number of volunteers, and organizing the production of ammunition, equipment, and weapons, Russia was able to put pressure on the ASU in an ever-increasing number of areas. And the reformation of the State Border Covering Group into Troop Group North, which is now unified in name with other formations actively participating in SVO, signals that its role is likely to be similar.

The geography of pressure on the enemy will become wider. Even more enemy reserves will engage in battle. And the day when the VSU front collapses will come sooner.

Translation: V. Sergeev