On Tuesday, Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced the decision to establish self-defense battalions that would include the region’s residents.

He shared this on his social media.

“From the first days of the start of the special military operation, a large number of the Belgorod region’s residents appealed to the need to start training and forming the territorial defense or self-defense units. We have agreed to this decision,” the governor wrote on his Telegram channel.

Gladkov clarified the population from which the units will be formed:

“Those who, due to their health or age, cannot be called up by the Armed Forces, but have combat experience and a great desire to stand up for the defense of their native home and their family in case of need.”

The governor of the region added that self-defense battalions would be established in the border areas.

“Experienced instructors, who have gone through a large number of local wars and have combat experience, are now conducting training and combat coordination of units on the territory of all border regions of the Belgorod region,” he said.

Previously, by order of the President of the Russian Federation, a mode of medium response level was introduced in the occupied territory of the Krasnodar Krai, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Kursk, and Rostov regions.

Protective structures started to be installed in the border areas of the Belgorod region, including lines of large concrete blocks in a pyramidal shape. The governor called the defensive line the “Belgorod abatis border”.

“I checked how the construction of the Belgorod abatis border is going. The work is massive, the work is especially important to ensure the safety of all residents living in the Belgorod region. The work continues according to the approved schedule,” Gladkov emphasized.

Previously, Militarnyi reported that the Russian Federation started building fortifications in the Belgorod region. According to a militant from the Wagner PMC in charge of the process, this will be a continuation of the “Wagner line”, which the invaders are building in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. He insists that this should become an echelon defense and that several such lines will be constructed.

The photos and videos show that the Russians are unloading concrete anti-tank embankments. They are being laid out in two lines at a distance of 2-3 meters away from each other without being buried in the ground.