The decision by the Russian President to provide heavy weaponry to the Russian National Guard may indicate that he views this structure as one of the main pillars of the regime's security.
This is stated in an intelligence overview from the British Ministry of Defense regarding the Russian-Ukrainian war as of August 8th.
The intelligence reminds that the Russian National Guard comprises around 200,000 personnel and has existed in its current form since 2016, led by former Putin bodyguard Viktor Zolotov.
On August 4th, Vladimir Putin signed a law allowing the Russian National Guard to possess heavy armament, and approximately a month prior to that, the Wagner PMC was disbanded.
"Despite Zolotov's claims that this structure performed well during the PMC disbandment, there is no evidence that the Russian National Guard took any effective actions against the Wagner Group, although it was precisely an internal security threat for which this structure was created.
Given that Zolotov previously proposed that heavy armament should include artillery and assault helicopters, the decision may indicate that the Kremlin is strengthening the Russian National Guard as a key structure responsible for ensuring the regime's security," the overview states.
