The Russian peacekeeping force in Karabakh consists of 1960 military personnel, 90 armored personnel carriers, 380 vehicles and special equipment. The main personnel are the military personnel of the 15th motorized rifle brigade of the Central Military District (located in the city of Samara), one of the purposes of which is precisely peacekeeping missions. These are three battalions plus auxiliary units, including scouts, sappers, radio operators, and a sniper company. This is the backbone of peacekeeping forces (MS) in Karabakh.
There is also the so-called “power-up”. The number of peacekeepers included units of the 31st Airborne Brigade: also peacekeeping, and also from Samara.
The peacekeepers in Karabakh are equipped with combat equipment 6B52 “Ratnik”, which includes, among other things, a bulletproof vest of protection class 5A, capable of withstanding an automatic projectile at a distance of more than 10 meters. They also have a Sagittarius mobile control system that provides communication and target designation.
In addition to the BTR-82A, peacekeepers use armored vehicles Tigr and Typhoon. Modern airborne combat vehicles BMD-4M with the Bakhcha-U combat module, which includes a 100 mm cannon, a 30 mm automatic cannon and a 7.62 mm machine gun, capable of firing guided missiles, looks like a serious force. BMD is also equipped with an automatic fire control system, a sight with a thermal camera and range finder guide channels that allow shooting at any time of the day and in weather conditions.
The 15th peacekeeping brigade also has electronic warfare equipment and UAVs. Modern electronic warfare systems Leer-3 were also deployed to Karabakh.
The total number of representatives of Russian military structures in Karabakh is estimated at three thousand people, taking into account the units of the National Guard, the Ministry of Emergencies and border guards. Secondly, it controls the “corridors” from Armenia, not Nagorno-Karabakh.
“The conflict in Karabakh is manageable and the current escalation is no different from previous violence,” military expert Colonel Pyotr Karapetyan told Gazeta.ru. – The conflict there will never stop, both sides will defend their interests. Russia is a deterrent here. Moscow has its own interests in relations with both Yerevan and Baku, the Kremlin will not quarrel with either of them and will not take sides in the near future.”
The expert noted that the two countries are more indirectly and unofficially involved in the conflict.
“First of all, this is Turkey, with which Azerbaijan has more than close relations, including military aid. Turkish consultants and trainers are openly working in Baku. There is also neighboring Iran, which does not welcome the expansion of Turkey’s influence in the region and displays a strong position, does not violate the borders and does not claim the lands of Karabakh regardless of its position. Tehran is particularly interested in the Lachin corridor, which is a strategically important logistics artery,” he said.
Due to the aggravated situation in Karabakh, the Iranian army is on high alert – tanks have advanced to the borders of Azerbaijan, and drones are actively conducting reconnaissance. But this is Tehran’s standard response to military conflicts in neighboring areas.
“Currently, the main goal of Azerbaijani President Aliyev and Turkish President Erdogan, who supports him, is not to further seize the entire Karabakh territory,” military observer Vladislav Shurygin told Gazeta.ru. – One of the tasks is to cross the so-called Nakhchivan corridor to reach the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, which is part of Azerbaijan, but separated from the “mainland” of Armenia by the territory of the Syunik region. Azerbaijan failed to fulfill this task in 2020, but it did not give up on the idea of Nakhchivan’s borders with Turkey, even a little. This is not just a road, it is the route of oil pipelines stretching from the Caspian beds to Europe via Ankara.”
Colonel Karapetyan pointed out that the Russian peacekeepers in Nagorno-Karabakh actually prevented not only the Armenian and Azerbaijani armies and Karabakh militias, but also Turkey and Iran. “This is a unique peacekeeping mission. “Russian peacekeepers in Karabakh are detaining five armies,” he said.