A cross-border raid in Russia’s Belgorod region from Ukraine this week has raised concerns among officials on the Ukrainian border, with Russian governors calling for the arming of local self-defense units or even the creation of a new military command structure at the border, Reuters reports.

A raid in the Belgorod region by ethnic Russian anti-Kremlin fighters, apparently equipped with American-made military equipment, lasted two days, prompting Moscow to use jets, airstrikes and artillery to drive out the Russian Parisians.

The attack, which Russia said killed at least one civilian, has sparked debate over what Moscow, which invaded Ukraine 15 months ago in what it says is a “special military operation,” can do to better protect its border. .

Russian militants fighting on Ukraine’s side launched a similar armed incursion into another border region of Bryansk in March, and Ukraine, which has long promised a powerful counteroffensive to drive Russian troops from its territory, appears to have stepped up drone attacks and sabotage against targets inside. of Russia

Arming volunteers on the border would save Russia from moving troops from the front line

After this week’s attack, the governors of two oblasts bordering Ukraine – Belgorod and Kursk – said they were in favor of changing the law to allow local self-defense units, made up of volunteers, to arm themselves if necessary.

Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Belgorod, said he and others are trying to change the law.

“They (local self-defense units). We have almost 3,000 people in seven battalions on the border,” Gladkov said.

But while he said they had been combat-ready and had been training since last November, he said they remained unarmed because giving them weapons was illegal under current Russian law.

“We are now looking for a legal framework … (for them) to be able to repel the enemy if necessary, for those who are trained, capable and professional,” he said. “I think that would be the right decision.”

Arming such a force could save the Defense Ministry from having to redeploy some of the troops it needs to the front lines to respond to similar raids in the future.

A proposal to arm volunteers at the border has reached Putin’s ears, but one deputy is proposing even more

Roman Starovoyt, the governor of the Kursk region bordering Ukraine, said that he supports this idea, which has a big supporter in the person of Andriy Turchak, the first vice-speaker of the upper house of the parliament.

Turchak told President Vladimir Putin at a meeting in the Kremlin last month that the issue must be resolved.

“The legal status of these formations is now extremely limited and, most importantly, they do not have the right to carry and use weapons. We propose to eliminate this anomaly at the legislative level,” Turchak told Putin, who made a report in the recommendations for study.

Colonel-General Andriy Kartapolov, an influential lawmaker who heads the defense committee of the lower house of parliament, believes that greater structural changes are also needed to ensure border security.

He told the RBC news channel that now a single headquarters is needed that could coordinate and manage all military and security forces in Russia’s regions bordering Ukraine.