Institute for the Study of War: Putin’s recent decrees reorganizing the army aim getting ready for a war with NATO

A US-based research center said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing for a possible war with NATO.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) concluded this after Putin’s new military decrees, one of which stipulated the re-establishment of the Moscow and Leningrad regions, heralding the outbreak of a large-scale war.

Russian officials are constantly promoting the necessity of launching strikes on Western countries that support Ukraine and support Kiev with weapons and money.

They also systematically warn of the imminent outbreak of a world war looming on the horizon.

On Monday, the Russian President signed decrees reorganizing the administrative and military structure in Russia.

One decree excludes Russia’s Northern Fleet – which was previously responsible for the Northwestern region – from its status as a “multidisciplinary strategic regional association” or joint headquarters.

The other decree officially reestablishes the Leningrad Military District and the Moscow Military District, with the Leningrad Military District taking over most of the territory formerly subject to the Russian Northern Fleet, and the Moscow Military District taking most of the territory formerly subject to the Western Army; The region, according to the Institute for the Study of War.

The research center indicated that the second decree signed by Putin also includes the four regions of Ukraine that Putin announced its annexation in the fall of 2022 – namely, the Kherson, Zaporizhia, Donetsk and Lugansk regions – in addition to the Crimean Peninsula, which he will control in 2014.

The inclusion of occupied and unoccupied parts of Ukrainian territory also indicates that Russia has targets in Ukraine and seeks to fully annex all five territories into the Russian Federation,” the center said.

The think tank considers the re-establishment of the Moscow Military District and the Leningrad Military District “supports the parallel goals of strengthening control over Russian operations in Ukraine in the short to medium term and preparing for a possible future large-scale conventional war against NATO in the long term”.

Russian military analyst Yuri Fedorov said in previous statements to the Russian investigative website Agentstvo that the re-establishment of the Leningrad Military District indicates that Russia is preparing for possible conflicts with the Baltic states and NATO.

The Leningrad Military District, located near new NATO member Finland and the Baltic states, is a key location for Russian forces overseeing parts of the country’s defense strategy in Russia’s western region.

The Scandinavian country shares a border of more than 1,287 km with Russia.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Finland sought to join NATO, and its application was officially accepted last year.

The Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania – also worked throughout the invasion to strengthen their defenses.

Sweden also removed the final hurdle to joining NATO when the Hungarian parliament ratified its application to join the alliance on Monday.

The Leningrad Military District was merged in 2010 with the Moscow Military District, the Northern Fleet, and the Baltic Fleet to form the Western Military District.

However, Moscow changed course in August 2023 when Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced that military districts were being formed.