Summary and Key Points: British Military Intelligence recently reported that over 30,000 Rosgvardiya (Russian National Guard) troops are currently deployed in Ukraine, focusing mainly on rear security operations with limited frontline engagement.

-The 116th Special Purpose Brigade, a key Rosgvardiya unit, includes mechanized infantry, tanks, and artillery. Efforts to integrate irregular formations and elite units like the Wagner Group into Rosgvardiya have faced challenges.

-Meanwhile, Russian forces, including pro-Russian separatists, continue to suffer significant daily casualties, with recent assessments indicating heavy losses of personnel and equipment in the ongoing conflict.

Russian Forces Suffer Heavy Daily Losses in Ongoing Ukraine War

Russian troops fighting in Ukraine come from a wide range of different units and organizations.

One such organization is the Rosgvardiya.

The Russian Rosgvardia

In its latest estimate of the war, the British Military Intelligence assessed that “it is highly likely that over 30,000 Rosgvardiya [Russian National Guard] personnel are currently deployed to Ukraine.”

Russian National Guard troops have been fighting in Ukraine since the opening days of the large-scale invasion. However, with approximately 500,000 troops in Ukraine right now, the Russian military has delegated Rosgvardiya “almost certainly [to] conducting rear area security operations, with only a few units engaging in frontline fighting.”

The best unit of the Russian Rosgvardiya is the 116th Special Purpose Brigade and it includes three regiments of mechanized infantry, as well as main battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, artillery pieces, and multiple launch rocket systems.

“Since the start of 2024, Rosgvardiya has almost certainly attempted to increase its frontline forces through absorbing Russian irregular formations,” the British Military Intelligence stated.

The Russian invasion has been supported by pro-Russian separatist forces. Essentially paramilitary units with hodgepodge gear, these separatist units haven’t made any significant difference in the fighting.

“Rosgvardiya successfully integrated the Donetsk People’s Republic [an illegal state created by Russia] Vostok Battalion into its ranks during May 2024,” the British Military Intelligence assessed.

But the Russian National Guard was looking to add a much more elite unit to its roster. The Wagner Group mercenary group has been looking for a patron ever since its mission to overthrow the Russian government failed last summer, and its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, was first exiled and then assassinated.

Although the Wagner Group was forced to hand over its heavy weapon systems, including main battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, and artillery guns, it remains a highly experienced and combat hardened outfit. Indeed, for a period last year, it was the Wagner Group that was pulling the Russian war effort in Ukraine. Wagner Group mercenaries captured the town of Bakhmut in the Donbas—at the cost of around 100,000 casualties—after a year of fighting.

However, it looks like an agreement that was in place with the Rosgvardiya fell through.

“It is highly likely that the anticipated agreement for Wagner [Group] forces to serve under Rosgvardiya’s 1st Volunteer Corps broke down in March 2024,” the British Military Intelligence added.

Russian Casualties

Meanwhile, Russian forces continue to suffer heavy losses in the fighting overall. Over the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense assessed that the Russian military and pro-Russian separatist forces lost approximately 1,050 men killed, wounded, and captured, as well as 102 tactical vehicles and fuel trucks, 73 unmanned aerial systems, 46 artillery pieces and multiple launch rocket systems, 21 pieces of special equipment, 18 main battle tanks, 17 infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers, and 4 anti-aircraft weapon systems.

These are extremely high casualties for a single day of fighting, but the Kremlin is willing to take the losses to achieve its goals in Ukraine.

About the Author

Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from Johns Hopkins University and an MA from Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.

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