This article features a fresh OSINT investigation from the Belarusian team of InformNapalm volunteer intelligence community. Although its editor-in-chief, Belarusian journalist Dzianis Ivashyn, was arrested by the KGB of Belarus on March 12, 2021 and remains behind bars as a political prisoner of Lukashenka’s regime, our Belarusian volunteers are only stepping up their activity. First, their investigations are published in Belarusian and then translated into other languages of our website. Our volunteers further analyzed data from satellite images of military facilities in Yelnya, provided by Maxar company, and came to the conclusion that the communications battalion of the troops of the Russian Federation stationed in Smolensk Oblast is associated with the military base deployed near the city of Yelnya featured in the Maxar images.
This is the territorial communications battalion, which belongs to the 132nd Communications Brigade (military unit 28916). It also has its own military unit number – military unit 28916-4. The main units of this brigade are located in Agalatava village, Leningrad Oblast.
This communications battalion has been located in Smolensk Oblast since at least 2013. According to 2013 data, it includes five communication centers:
- Harpoon communication center (Smolensk);
- Obzor communication center (Smolensk Oblast, Krasninsky raion, the village of Gusino);
- Kristall satellite communication station (Smolensk Oblast, Khokhlovo village);
- Zaimka communication center (Smolensk Oblast, Khokhlovo village);
- Greenwich communication center (Smolensk, Gnezdovo neighborhood) (web archive).
That is, in 2013, this battalion had no communication centers located in Yelnya.
On January 23, 2021, advertisements for four vacancies in this battalion appeared at once on the employment websites of Smolensk Oblast.
Namely, the military unit simultaneously required an engineering technician (web archive), a technician (web archive), a communications electromechanical technician (web archive), and a shift supervisor (web archive).
According to this information, the place of employment for potential workers would be Kutuzovsky microdistrict of the city of Yelnya (without specifying the street and building number).
These are, for example, the duties of an engineering technician: “Organize technical operational use and ensure reliable and uninterrupted operation of communication facilities, electrical equipment, emergency power supply cables, as well as meteorological support of communication facilities“.
These facts may indicate that another communications center was set up in Yelnya as part of military unit 28916-4 at the beginning of 2021.
As of now, the advertisements have been removed from the employment websites, likely because the specified vacancies have been filled.
The Kutuzovsky microdistrict, indicated as the place of work, consists of residential buildings, a school, a kindergarten and several shops. But next to it, the satellite images show military facilities, which were noticed by Maxar company.
Thus, there are grounds to believe that this military base is the location for the recently deployed military communications center.
This publication was prepared by the Belarusian editorial team of InformNapalm.
Read more from InformNapalm
- Proofs of the Russian Aggression: InformNapalm releases extensive database of evidence
- Volunteers gathered evidence of 32 Russian military units taking part in the invasion of Crimea
- Intelligence data on 1st and 2nd Army Corps of the Russian Federation in the occupied Donbas
- Russian airstrikes in Syria provoking new waves of refugees to the EU
- Ukrainian Bukovel-AD R4 EW-systems deployed near the border (PHOTO)
Translated by Julia Ponomarenko, edited by Artem Velichko. Distribution and reprint with reference to InformNapalm is welcome! (Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0)
InformNapalm social media pages: Facebook / Twitter/ Telegram
Translated by Julia Ponomarenko, edited by Artem Velichko. Distribution and reprint with reference to InformNapalm is welcome! (Creative Commons — Attribution 4.0 International — CC BY 4.0)
InformNapalm does not receive any financial support from any country’s government or large donors. InformNapalm.org website is kept alive only by the community volunteers and our readers. You can also volunteer or support the development of the unique volunteer intelligence resource with your donations through Patreon.
Read the latest book “Donbas in Flames. Guide to the Conflict Zone” published by Prometheus Center. This guide will be useful to journalists, researchers, war experts, diplomats and general readers seeking information on the war in Donbas.
No Responses to “Russia provides communications assets to the troops on the borders of Ukraine and Belarus”