BELGOROD. July 5 (Interfax) - The issue of arming the self-defense battalions has been solved within the legal framework, Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Russia's Belgorod region, said.
"What is Belgorod's self-defense? It is 3,000 people, real men with permanent jobs who expressed readiness to take up arms and protect their homes, families, children, land, if necessary. A lot of training sessions were conducted in the past six months. The pending matter is weapons. I can tell that this issue has been solved partially. Within a week [...] the battalions stationed along the border will be armed in accordance with the current legislation," Gladkov said during a livestream on Wednesday.
It was reported earlier that the authorities of the Belgorod region had made a decision to form self-defense battalions in the border areas comprising residents who are not subject to mobilization. About 3,000 people responded to the initiative on the creation of self-defense units.
The self-defense units comprising volunteers help law enforcers to maintain order in the region and patrol the crucial infrastructure facilities.
The Russian president has decreed a regime of medium-level response in the Republic of Crimea, Krasnodar Territory, the Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kursk and Rostov regions and in Sevastopol.