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Independent military history author and researcher. Coffee tips are appreciated! https://t.co/t1EjNrIZ2c Now also at https://t.co/4qGQ2ffHJJ

Apr 15, 29 tweets

1/ In this third part of his exposé of how organised crime has taken over the Russian army in Ukraine, Russian journalist Sergey Komkov highlights how Russian commanders are now "jumping to the tune of robbers and murderers." ⬇️

2/ Part 1 of his account is here:

3/ Part 2 is here:

4/ Many of the Russian army's pre-war junior officers have died in the war in Ukraine. They have often been replaced by promoted convicts and men dismissed from other positions in the security forces, leading to widespread criminal infiltration of the officer corps, says Komkov:

5/ "Unfortunately, during the course of the Special Military Operation, situations have arisen and continue to arise where people who have only seen airplanes and parachutes in pictures or movies are unexpectedly sent as officers and commanders of airborne combat units.

6/ "For example, during the formation of the Russian Airborne Forces about which I have already written a number of articles, someone’s malicious intent led to not to trained, experienced paratroopers being sent to carry out combat operations,…

7/ …but instead hardened criminals thoroughly steeped in the criminal and gangster spirit. It was also decided to select some officers in a similarly “appropriate” manner. And so it happened that one of these officers turned out to be a certain former senior police lieutenant.

8/ "He had been dismissed from the Ministry of Internal Affairs back in 2007 with an extremely negative character reference and the explanation "for failing to fulfill the terms of his military contract."

9/ "But in October 2023, this former, effectively discredited, Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs officer signs a military contract again. This time, to serve in the Airborne Forces, no less.

10/ "And once again, some kind person, upon signing the contract (without paying any attention to this unfortunate officer's previous service record), reinstates him to the rank of senior lieutenant.

11/ "And just a month later, another equally kind person (also without consulting that same service record), with a single stroke of his pen, awards him the military officer rank of captain.

12/ "And this same "captain," who had already "failed to fulfill the terms of his military contract" once before, is entrusted with a combat unit in the glorious Airborne Forces regiment!

13/ "What do you think, my dear reader, for what purpose and to what end did this newly minted "captain"—utterly unreliable in terms of following orders from superior commanders and completely incapable and unwilling to actually "fulfill the terms of his military contract"…

14/ …—go to the Special Military Operation zone?

Yes, yes! That's exactly what I was thinking!

And, apparently, it's no coincidence that this "captain" and his subordinates from the organised crime network immediately developed a very trusting relationship.

15/ "And, apparently, it's no coincidence that it was precisely in his so-called "combat unit," which had effectively become the equivalent of a "thieves' den," that all these former murderers, rapists, robbers, bandits, thieves, and hardened swindlers felt so comfortable.

16/ "It was in this "captain's" company that vodka and moonshine flowed freely in the dugouts, weed was smoked, and girls were "fooling around" in the corners, evenings and nights.

17/ "It was his bosses who brazenly fleeced new recruits and then used the stolen money to quite openly buy themselves brand-new luxury cars.

18/ "It was in this company that all sorts of criminal elements, like the "warriors" with the so-called call sign "Grenade," could openly threaten to kill the regiment's strict and principled commander.

19/ "And they didn't spare their fellow soldiers either. So they easily dealt with a young lieutenant who had become upset by a wild drinking session in a dugout in the middle of an August night in early 2024.

20/ "They shot him point-blank in his sleep and buried him in a pit filled with household waste.

21/ "And when the regiment commander learned of this crime and summoned the murderer and his accomplice for a harsh hearing, using a piece of cable and a broom handle to severely punish them, forcing them to confess to the heinous crime they had committed, they, I believe,…

22/ …ran first to their buddy, the "captain," and complained to him of the "physical, moral, and ethical suffering" they had supposedly endured during their just (but, I believe, far from complete) punishment."

23/ Komkov warns that "very soon there will be no trace left of the combat effectiveness of our Russian army. And we will return once again to the chaos of the 1990s, when the best representatives of our armed forces simply leave their ranks."

24/ "For if the principle of one-man command is abolished in the army and all sorts of crooks, swindlers, and criminals rule the roost, rather than experienced officers, Russia will be left completely defenceless."

25/ He hopes that this will not happen, and anticipates that "the hour of reckoning will surely come for all these bandits and murderers, who have so cleverly ensconced themselves under the wing of certain military officials."

26/ "And our country will surely give each of them their due: to those like our brave and courageous regiment commander, who, despite everything, decided to restore proper military order and make his unit truly combat-ready – GLORY!

27/ "To those like this fake "captain" – A PILLAR OF SHAME!

28/ And to those ... criminal elements who have today filled the dugouts of our combat units in the Special Military Operation, effectively turning them into "organized thieves' dens" (OVM) – NEW, HARSHER TERMS BEHIND BARBED WIRE!" /end

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