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Putin re-establishes Moscow and Leningrad Military Districts — decree

The newly established Military Districts have embraced the regions previously assigned to the Western Military District and the Northern Fleet

MOSCOW, February 26. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to re-establish the Moscow and Leningrad Military Districts, according to the document posted on the government’s legal information web portal on Monday.

The Leningrad Military District will integrate the Republic of Karelia, the Republic of Komi, the Arkhangelsk, Vologda, Kaliningrad, Leningrad, Murmansk, Novgorod and Pskov Regions, the city of St. Petersburg and the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Region, the document says.

The Moscow Military District will embrace the Belgorod, Bryansk, Vladimir, Voronezh, Ivanovo, Kaluga, Kostroma, Kursk, Lipetsk, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Oryol, Ryazan, Smolensk, Tambov, Tver, Tula and Yaroslavl Regions and the city of Moscow, according to the decree.

The newly established Military Districts have embraced the regions previously assigned to the Western Military District and the Northern Fleet.

The plans to set up two new Military Districts in Russia were first mentioned by Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu at the ministry’s board meeting in December 2022. In turn, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in December 2023 that Russia had to re-establish the Leningrad Military District due to Finland’s accession to NATO.

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