Two decrees officially reestablishing the military districts of Moscow and Leningrad.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed two decrees on February 26 officially reestablishing the Moscow and Leningrad military districts, codifying Russia’s major military restructuring and reform efforts.
According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), it supports the goals of consolidating control over Russian operations in Ukraine in the short to medium term, and preparing for possible large-scale conventional war against NATO long-term.
Until now, most of this territory fell under the Western Military District, created in 2010 by the merger of the two.
The newly separated Leningrad district will now run along NATO’s northeastern border, and the Moscow district will border northeastern Ukraine and Poland, allowing Russia to position itself simultaneously against NATO and streamline command and control of the war in Ukraine.
Vladimir Putin had previously claimed that it was necessary to create the Leningrad district after Finland joined NATO in 2023, signaling the Kremlin’s clear intention to use the district to position itself against NATO.
The ISW has also recently observed Kremlin actors, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, establishing informational conditions to justify possible Russian hybrid attacks against Moldova as well as against the Baltic states, against Denmark and Finland.
Earlier, the Estonian Foreign Intelligence Service said that the security situation in Europe and along Estonia’s borders in the near future would depend on the ability of Ukraine, with the support of its allies, to break the Russian aggression.