Russia creates new divisions formally, but cannot staff them, Palisa claims

Pavel Palisa. Photo: gettyimages.com

In 2025, Russia set a goal to create 15 new divisions, but in fact began forming only four, UATV English reports.

This was stated in an interview with Ukrinform by Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Colonel Pavlo Palisa.

“Back in 2024, Russia restored/reformed its structure by creating the Leningrad and Moscow military districts. But this is portrayed more as a strengthening of its position against NATO. Moreover, it is more psychological. Creating a district on paper is one thing. Filling it with trained personnel, equipment, and logistics is quite another,” he explained.

Palisa also added that it will take a significant amount of time for the newly created units to become combat-capable.

“Here we need to mention the Russians’ goal of creating 15 new divisions by 2025, of which only four have actually been created. But even those are just formalities, with limited capabilities, because they can’t fill them with people due to significant losses on the front lines,” he said.

As reported earlier, Russia’s total manpower losses now stand over 1,2 million soldiers.

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