Vladimir Putin’s re-establishment of two military districts in Russia could signify he is “preparing for a potential future large-scale conventional war against NATO in the long term”, according to military analysts.

The Russian president yesterday signed a decree officially reinstating the Moscow and Leningrad military districts in western Russia, which have not existed since 2010.

He signed another stating that Russia’s existing southern military district now includes the entirety of the Ukrainian regions of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk and Luhansk, and not just the areas currently under Russian occupation.

Military analysts at the Institute for the Study of War said the inclusion of occupied and unoccupied Ukrainian territory points to Russia’s “maximalist” plan to absorb all five regions.

The ISW also said the recreation of the Moscow and Leningrad districts points to more long-term goals.

The districts were initially merged in 2010 to form a wider western military district, which “stretched” Russia between the war in Ukraine and “posturing against NATO”, the thinktank said.

Now Mr Putin has provided a “remedy” to the issue, it added.

The re-established districts will “allow Russia to simultaneously posture against NATO and streamline command and control” for the Ukraine war, the ISW said, signifying Moscow could be “preparing for a potential future large-scale conventional war against NATO in the long term”.