 Russia's president has restructured his elite forces amid growing fears over the loyalty of the country's top brass. Vladimir Putin personally ordered moving the Interior Ministry's Grom special forces unit under the command of the National Guard, according to reports on Saturday. Grom, made up of about 7,000 men, is widely renowned for its hardline operations against gangland activity. The National Guard, headed up by Mr Putin's former bodyguard, Viktor Zolotov, is roughly 320,000 men strong and answers directly to the Russian president. Its former activities have largely centred on quashing anti-governmental protests. Ben Noble, Associate Professor of Russian Politics at UCL, told The Telegraph the move represented an attempt to 'coup-proof the Kremlin.' It's exactly one month to the day after Yevgeny Prigozhin and members of his Wagner Group, a Russian private military contractor, marched almost to Moscow in a rebellion against what it described as military failings in Ukraine. Denouncing Prigozhin's actions as 'treasonous', Mr Putin has since shown signs of concern over further signs of disquiet among senior members of the country's military and security services. The National Guard answers directly to the Russian president and is headed up by Viktor Zolotov, Putin's former bodyguard (Picture: Getty Images) In addition to the recent restructuring, the Russian president has also launched what appears to be an ongoing purge of defence officials, with up to 11 high-profile cannings in recent weeks. Last Monday, it emerged Major General Vladimir Seliverstov, a Russian paratrooper commander, had been removed from his post as head of the country's 106th Guards Airborne division. President Putin has shown signs of concern over the loyalty of his top military and security officials following the Wagner Rebellion (Picture: AP) According to Washing DC-bas){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Russia’s president has restructured his elite forces amid growing fears over the loyalty of the country’s top brass.
Vladimir Putin personally ordered moving the Interior Ministry’s Grom special forces unit under the command of the National Guard, according to reports on Saturday.
Grom, made up of about 7,000 men, is widely renowned for its hardline operations against gangland activity.
The National Guard, headed up by Mr Putin’s former bodyguard, Viktor Zolotov, is roughly 320,000 men strong and answers directly to the Russian president. Its former activities have largely centred on quashing anti-governmental protests.