This Wednesday, January 26, the United Russia party, the majority in the Russian Parliament, sent a request to President Vladimir Putin to equip the forces of the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk.
With our correspondent in Moscow, Leo Vidal-Giraud
Will there be Russian weapons in the hands of Ukrainian separatists? In any case, this is what the United Russia party is asking for. The request is a matter of political posturing, as these issues do not fall within the competence of the Russian Parliament. But they give, if necessary, a new option to the Kremlin to increase even more the pressure on Kiev.
The Russian government did not seem to respond today to the requests of its deputies, but did not exclude this possibility either. If so, then it will likely be artillery, anti-aircraft and electronic warfare equipment to counter in particular the new drones that Turkey has sold to Ukraine.
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But deploying such equipment in the Donbass doesn’t really make sense from a tactical point of view. These are long-range weapons, they can quite operate from Russian territory. If this is done, it would rather be a deterrent, to prevent the Ukrainian army from attacking the separatists.
In any case, any arms deliveries would probably not be a prelude to an invasion. The front line in Donbass is very fortified, it is heavily mined. This is arguably the worst option for launching a major offensive.
So, consider the specialists, if Russia actually decides to arm the separatists, it would be rather to maintain a tactical balance and possibly, to fix the most Ukrainian troops on the spot in view, perhaps, of an offensive on another forehead.
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