Towards the end of March, at a point where Putin’s War seemed to be unraveling, but some of us were still having trouble coming to grips with the abysmal performance of the Russian armed forces, an amusing story hit the internet. Some 300 South Ossetian soldiers who had volunteered to give their lives fighting in Ukraine for their country’s Russian puppeteer showed back up home. They had walked and hitchhiked some 500 as-the-crow-flies miles back home from the battlefield.
While I don’t know if Putin felt embarrassed or capable of feeling that emotion, his military chiefs made big of the Russian loyal friends who showed up to fight in Ukraine against the evil nazis. This incident raised some concerns at home.
Today, about 300 soldiers (mostly ethnic Ossetians) from the Russian military base returned to South Ossetia of their own free will, because they thought they had been left for dead during a special operation in Ukraine. pic.twitter.com/D8iN1VolrU
— Alik Puhati (@rajdianos) March 30, 2022
warm clothing and protective equipment.
— Alik Puhati (@rajdianos) March 30, 2022
More information about soldiers from South Ossetia in this thread https://t.co/pU2eBpwoeD
— Alik Puhati (@rajdianos) March 31, 2022
A member of the South Ossetian parliament supported the soldiers who returned to Ossetia from a special operation in Ukraine. In his words no one has the right to accuse our soldiers of cowardice. pic.twitter.com/OS3SxTsN2L
— Alik Puhati (@rajdianos) April 1, 2022
Anatoly Bibinlov, South Ossetian President spoke to the “deserters”, to get more information about that episode.
An Airing of Grievances is a fitting way of ending Festivus Celebrations.
Bibilov wanted soldiers to share their experiences. If you’ve ever been a commander or had soldiers tell you what happened, you’ve probably seen “The Last Stand”.
This is really remarkable. Soldiers from South Ossetia openly stating that the complete chaos and incompetence of the Russian command in Ukraine led them to desert and return home. They say huge amounts of equipment simply do not work. https://t.co/yXYygYGLIl pic.twitter.com/7cZpUG7Ia1
— Neil Hauer (@NeilPHauer) May 4, 2022
Finally, Bibilov gets fed up and tells the troops to stop complaining. The president and troops get into a shouting match.
Bibilov tries to calm down the military
“You should know that technology isn’t always the most effective weapon in war. ” – If Ossetia had ever experienced something, I would be happy to tell you. People also think about Ossetia. But you shouldn’t ask that question.
Bibilov began to scream. Someone reminded him of Inal Dzhabiev’s death in South Ossetia. Dzhabiev’s family believes he died of torture while being interrogated.
Why didn’t the Dzhabievs go to you while they were sitting on the square? Where were you? A question is asked by the audience.
You did a lot for Dzhabiev. Bibilov shouts back and then he hits the table. It is best to cover your mouth. Did you ever know him?
The republic’s head then recalls how many people were killed to protect South Ossetia – Russians and other nationalities. You are now telling me that if anything happens in Ossetia, we will be left alone. If they do, don’t you think these Nazis or fascists would appear in Ukraine?
Bibilov claims that Ossetia will be the first to “end” if Russia fails: “Know they are fighting there. However, we are defending our homeland. ”
He scolds. We should have stayed.
Bibilov said that he was going to the front, but that the servicemen were forced to wait.
One person noticed that no one had told them about Bibilov’s arrival. Radik stated that he could not tell everyone individually when calling me.
Although this is a humorous observation, it points to a serious problem in the Russian Armed Forces. Evidence from Ukraine shows that the Russian armed forces are not designed for combat resistance.
There have been many stories of defection, combat refusal, and endemic desertion over the past two months (Report: Russians Do to Their Commander Shows How Troubled They Are) about the Russian armed forces involved in Putin’s War.
Senior US def official to reporters: US has recent evidence that Russian troops “have been disillusioned by this war, weren’t properly informed, weren’t properly trained, weren’t ready, not just physically, but weren’t ready mentally for what they were about to do.”
— Barbara Starr (@barbarastarrcnn) April 13, 2022
Russia seems to be returning to an old and proven method of preventing desertion because of the serious problems.
Putin sends in ‘execution squads’ to kill Russian deserters https://t.co/LmHD1Fe9MR
— Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) March 23, 2022
According to reports, Chechen thugs loyal to Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov were one of Putin’s favorite auxiliary forces and ignited a firefight among Russian units. They were there to keep other troops from retreating, and they took advantage of the opportunity to seize the loot left behind by the attacking troops.
In the occupied Kiselivka village (near the famous Chornobaivka Russian arms storage) in #Kherson province, about 50 Russian soldiers of Buriat nationality opened fire at night at fellow #Kadyrovites Chechens. There’re dead & wounded. Source: Intel Dept of Ukraine MoD. [Thread⬇️]
— Victor Kovalenko (@MrKovalenko) April 29, 2022
[2] Allegedly, the revolted #Buriat soldiers of the Russian military were angry and frustrated that #Kadyrovites Chechens didn’t fight along with them, but threatened to kill Buriats in case they retreat from the battlefield. Source: Intel Dept of Ukraine MoD.
— Victor Kovalenko (@MrKovalenko) April 29, 2022
The Buryat nation is Mongolian. However, the Chechens are not.
Reports coming in about a shootout between Russian forces in Kiselivka, in the Kherson region.
50 Buryats started shooting against 50 Chechens after the Chechens stole goods that the Buryats had looted from Ukrainian homes.
Killed & injured on both sides before FSB intervened. pic.twitter.com/xJEYDDRWMz
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) April 29, 2022
While it isn’t a new idea, the practice of using one ethnic group to maintain order among the rest of the population Was he a Jewish “refusenik”? He claimed that there were frequent fights between Red Army ethnicities.
This raises a new issue within Russia’s military. It mainly consists of ethnic groups from Central Asia.
Thirdly, they are disposable. Imagine kids of Moscow intelligentsia getting killed in Ukraine – that’s a headache. Their families gonna call lawyers, media, human rights organizations, give interviews. Meanwhile rural bumpkin moms will cry in the pillow and that’s it. AMAZING pic.twitter.com/r1WBcItamX
— Kamil Galeev (@kamilkazani) March 23, 2022
4. Make pressure on European governments to stop railway shipments from Europe to China through Russia. Yeah, they’re still going, though their number decreased. And I strongly suspect they’ll be used for smuggling vital European components for Russian military industry pic.twitter.com/X38FUAL8KZ
— Kamil Galeev (@kamilkazani) March 28, 2022
Most of dead 🇷🇺 soldiers are servicemen from poor regions, highest losses come from 2 Russian republics Dagestan and Buryatia. There, average salary is just over 20k rubles a month (~EUR 220). St. Petersburg & Moscow are all but absent among KIA https://t.co/wOzLHBRm6F pic.twitter.com/K8s1vvXNRm
— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) April 26, 2022
Most ethnic Russians who served as soldiers were recruited from orphanages. At the age of 18, orphans are removed from their homes.
I’ve written previously about Putin’s military forces. Russia calls 100,000 soldiers into active duty, while the Wagner Group is moved from Syria to help with Ukraine’s manpower crisis. This experiment included non-commissioned officers as well as cannon fodder. It was abandoned twenty years ago. All leadership and management functions are now performed by commissioned officers. Conscript soldiers can’t legally be sent to war without an officially proclaimed order. This is not Russian stereotyping. The “professional” contract troops are allowed to leave at any moment, except when there is a martial or declaration.
The problem is that the Russian armed forces don’t look like the USSR or West.
As the martial law algorithm was not activated, procedurally speaking Russia is now in peace. Thus all the peace time procedures are still valid. In practical terms, it means that the army, the National Guard and other contractors can just leave their job. See Strelkov’s lament: pic.twitter.com/S1K94WucZX
— Kamil Galeev (@kamilkazani) May 4, 2022
In other words, desertion from the Russian military is now legal as long as you are a paid contractor. Ofc army and National Guard bosses try to prevent that. Some issue executive orders forbidding the military to quite their jobs until “their special goals are completed” pic.twitter.com/Hm5YW5NmoK
— Kamil Galeev (@kamilkazani) May 4, 2022
Some commanders try to destroy the record of the military who quit, putting a special notes or stamps into their military IDs (военный билет), personnel files, etc. That however has little effect on your future unless you plan to work for the state. Besides, you can sue them pic.twitter.com/c7Zkl7YC4g
— Kamil Galeev (@kamilkazani) May 4, 2022
Leadership is vital for maintaining discipline in the armed forces. The victims are those who lead the victims into battle.
look at these poor russian guys tortured and humiliated by enemy forces.
oh, but wait, no, it’s just a common day in russian army itself. russian soldiers humiliate and harass other russian soldiers for fun. that’s the world they used to. that’s the only world they understand pic.twitter.com/TIpL6W8OyP— Дід мілаш (@die_bitches_die) March 30, 2022
Based on the Russian armed forces’ structure and nature, I believe Putin’s War can’t be sustained. Both manpower and equipment have suffered huge losses. Ukraine now has a quantitative advantage (Ukraine has more tanks than Russia and it looks worse in the future), as well as a qualitative advantage (US Artillery Delivered to Ukraine Is More than Guns). This is a game-changing change from the present. With the Russian armed forces being so close to breaking point, we now know a lot about combat men.