1/ In what may be a bizarre case of mistaken identity, the Russian FSB has killed a group of Russian people it claims are pro-Ukrainian saboteurs – but who reportedly appear to be Airsoft enthusiasts who were engaged in live-action roleplay of the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. video games. ⬇️
2/ The Russian media reported on 23 November that the FSB had killed three people in Voronezh who it claimed were members of a "conspiratorial cell of supporters of Ukrainian nationalist ideology." They died during an attempt to "extract the means of terror" from a location.
3/ It's not clear what the three men were supposedly planning. But according to the Moscow Times, two of the three were well-known participants in the Voronezh airsoft community. One used the nickname Stalker Phosgene for live-action roleplay based on the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games.
4/ The FSB showed off a banner with an emblem in the form of a green wolf's head in profile and the inscription "Воля" ("Will"). It was highlighted on Russian state TV with the claim that it was the "flag of the far-right [Ukrainian] nationalist party Volya".
5/ In fact, as the Moscow Times points out, it's a symbol from the S.T.A.L.K.E.R. games, where it's used by a faction of Stalkers called Svoboda (Freedom). stalker.fandom.com/wiki/Freedom
7/ This isn't the first time the FSB appears to have got confused by video games: in April, it apparently confused three SIM cards with the game The Sims 3. /end
1/ This is the first published photo of Russian soldiers being held captive by the Russian army in a basement in the village of Zavitne Bazhannya. It reportedly shows 20 men being confined in a 5 m x 3 m space, with no toilet, no water, and food being provided only once a day. ⬇️
2/ The independent Russian ASTRA media group has published further details of the improvised prison facility that was first identified by The Insider (see thread below). The men being held there are mobilised soldiers who refuse to fight on the front line.
3/ Earlier reports said that the men were being held in "anti-sanitary conditions", where they were being used as labourers a few kilometres behind the front line and being threatened periodically with being sent to the front line or being shot.
1/ Following earlier news about reported plans for a second partial mobilisation in the New Year, President Putin has reportedly ordered that a single military database is to be created – presumably to make it easier to conduct mobilisations in future.
2/ The independent Russian media outlet ASTRA reports:
"The database will take into account conscripts, contract servicemen and those in the reserve. It will contain the information needed "to update the documents of military registration".
3/ By 30 December this year, regional authorities together with the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Digital Development will digitise all databases of the military registration and enlistment offices.
2/ The mobilised man in this video asks how the supplier could have won the contract to supply the Russian army. The answer is almost certainly corruption. Two forms are common.
3/ First, suppliers often substitute inferior products for what they are contracted to provide, and pocket the difference. Soldiers are often served mouldy, rotten food contaminated with bacteria. E coli outbreaks occur periodically.
"On Artillery Day, I would like to give a brief history of the use of this type of weapon in the Special Military Operation.
Most artillerymen, before 24 February, had no idea how to fight under modern conditions. /1
@RALee85 The experience of Syria does not suit Ukraine in any way, and nobody studied the 8-year conflict in Donbas and the evolution of the use of artillery. There were more important things to do... /2
@RALee85 Nobody created new artillery systems either. Systems similar to "777" and "Caesars" have not been created until now. (They will say again that it is all [former Defence Minister] Serdyukov's fault). /3
1/ In a fascinating proxy for waning Russian public support of Putin's war, the "We can explain" (MO) Telegram channel says that falling demand for pro-war memorabilia in Russia is resulting in deep discounting and the withdrawal of some products from sale. ⬇️
2/ MO reports:
"The value of paraphernalia bearing the symbols of the Russian invasion of Ukraine (Z – "Zahodim" ["let's go"] and the symbol of victory V) has been falling in recent months, according to data from aggregators, to which MO has drawn attention.
3/ The decline accelerated after the surrender of Kherson. There have also been fewer comments on these goods, which means a significant drop in demand for them.
1/ Dozens of Russian soldiers who have been imprisoned and starved in a basement have been forced back to the front lines at gunpoint by the Russian Army, according to relatives. Some are reportedly sick from starvation and have been robbed of all their money and possessions. ⬇️
2/ The Russian Army is said to be imprisoning hundreds of mobilised men who have retreated from the front line. It's reportedly using the basement of the House of Culture (cultural centre) in the village of Zaitseve, near the Russian border.
3/ Two relatives of men being held at Zaitseve have spoken to the independent Russian media outlet Verstka about what their menfolk have been experiencing. Both men are serving with the 2nd Battalion of the 27th Motorized Rifle Brigade.