 Russian volunteer corps warns we will do everything to prevent any Putin elections in border areas. Fighters of the Russian volunteer corps will make efforts to ensure that no sham elections of Russian President Vladimir Putin take place on the territories bordering Ukraine. Russian volunteer corps commander Denis Nikitin said this in an interview with UP. I believe that the fighters of the Russian volunteer corps will do everything to ensure that there are no elections in the areas bordering Ukraine. Perhaps this can be considered one of the goals of our current operation, he said. Nikitin said that Russian volunteer corps fighters can influence and show people that what is planned in Russia is not an election but a farce, and this is one of the political tasks of Russian volunteers. Nikitin also mentioned that after each similar operation, more and more Russians expressed the desire to join the ranks of the Russian volunteer corps. Every such operation proves that it is possible and necessary to fight against the Putin regime exclusively with weapons. Not toothless actions like lanterns in the night sky or whatever the Russian opposition has been doing for the last 20 years. None of that works. The death of Alexei Navalny only convinced everyone of our righteousness, only armed resistance. And the Russian volunteer corps shows what this armed resistance looks like, what a real struggle for the future of Russia looks like. A large number of people are watching us, seeing our successes and finding the courage to join our fight, he added. Another group called the Sibir Battalion said on social media that as promised, we are bringing freedom and justice to our Russian land. They called on the population in the areas where the battles were going on to leave those places. They also said that this is for security purposes. Recently, soldiers of the freedom of Russia Legion, the Russian volunteer corps and the Siberian Battalion have reported that they have crossed the Russian border. The military volunteer groups have posted an address online and a video has appeared on telegram channels purporting to show military personnel firing their weapons on Russian territory. Russia may wage war in Ukraine for years, but ammunition quality in doubt. Russia can likely keep fighting in Ukraine at the current scale for two to five more years. The Wall Street Journal reported citing military experts. This ability comes despite sanctions aimed at crippling Russia's defense industry. Russia's ability to churn out tanks, missiles and shells has surprised the West and heaped further pressure on Ukraine. The Wall Street Journal said Russia has ramped up spending with defense now accounting for over 21% of the federal budget significantly higher than in 2020. It is predicted that this share will increase in 2024 to more than 29%. Russia also found ways to work around sanctions, acquiring Western components through intermediaries. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in December that Russia was producing 17.5 times as much ammunition, 17 times as many drones and 5.6 times as many tanks as it did before the war. A senior NATO official stated that Russia can likely sustain its war effort at the current scale for two to five more years and at least two European military intelligence agencies share this belief. The Wall Street Journal said the central bank's analysis also shows that much of the increase in defense related output was in low-tech products such as fabricated steel rather than more sophisticated items like semiconductors for which Russia is reliant on foreign suppliers. The article said some analysts question Moscow's production boasts. Russia's output figures, for instance, don't differentiate between newly produced armored vehicles and old models brought out of storage and refurbished, the publication said. They are hyping up the numbers. Said Michael Yasta, a researcher at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, based on a review of satellite images before and after the start of the war, in 2023, Russia brought out at least 1,200 old tanks from storage. Yasta said, therefore, Russia produced 330 new tanks in 2023 at the very most, though the true figure is likely to be half that number, he said. Russia has also dipped into reserves of old artillery ammunition, the journalist said. The stockpile now stands at around 3 million rounds, much of which is in poor condition the Royal United Services Institute, a UK-based think tank, said. Russia's domestic ammunition production isn't sufficient to meet its needs for waging war in Ukraine, meaning Moscow will grow more dependent on foreign allies, the analysts said.