1/ Citizens of the puppet 'Donetsk People's Republic' (DNR) are complaining en masse that they are not being paid their promised compensation for deaths and injuries caused to local residents by the war. The DNR itself admits that it owes more than 38 billion rubles ($467m). ⬇️
2/ Relatives and soldiers of the DNR's armed forces – which have been decimated due to being used as so-called 'meat waves' against Ukrainian positions – have been posting numerous videos complaining about the lack of compensation payments and appealing to Putin for help.
3/ In one video, a wife says: "Starting from September 2022, funding for lump-sum compensation for wounded and killed DNR servicemen for 2022 was terminated. We submitted documents to the commission of the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy of the DNR.
4/ "There are a lot of us. We applied to all authorities. From the presidential administration to the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation.
5/ "All our appeals are forwarded to the government of the DNR, which redirects them to the Ministry of Labour, and the answers come from there that there is no funding. We write to the deputies and there are no results."
6/ According to the wife of one wounded soldier, his unit "collected all the necessary documents promptly, the medical examiner issued a conclusion of a severe injury.
7/ "In November we submitted all the documents for payment, and for seven months there have been no payments, the allowance during treatment is 30,000 rubles ($371). The answer is the same, there is no funding."
8/ People seeking compensation have complained to the DNR state prosecutor's office, which admitted that an audit had "established the fact of lack of funding for this type of payment, which requires an amount of more than 38 billion rubles."
9/ It's very unlikely that the DNR will be able to pay the sums it owes, as its finances are precarious, its economy is a mess and it's kept afloat only by Russian government funding.
10/ The Russian government has shown little concern previously for the welfare of DNR soldiers and their families, so there seems to be little likelihood that the relatives' video appeals will achieve much. /end
1/ A video showing alcoholics, newly recruited into the Russian army, has attracted scorn, concern, and even some compassion from Russian warbloggers. They suggest that the men will be deliberately killed for being useless when they arrive at the front. ⬇️
2/ "We are Russians - we don't care' comments that this video is far from being a unique case (a fact that other warbloggers have confirmed). "If you think these are just the most hopeless ones, then I have some bad news for you – these are only the ones that got busted."
3/ The 'House among the Laurels' Telegram channel writes:
"Oh, this war and its long duration, during which unknown meanness and a multitude of "grey" schemes have proliferated—options for greedy profits among participants in or close to the frontline communities."
1/ Russian warbloggers conclude gloomily – and angrily – that the Russian Black Sea Fleet is so weakened and so far behind technologically that it cannot retaliate effectively against Ukraine's attack on two Russian 'shadow fleet' tankers. ⬇️
2/ On 28 November, the tankers Kairos and Virat were struck and seriously damaged by Ukrainian sea drones in the southern Black Sea. Both ships were disabled and had to be towed to Turkish ports. Ukraine subsequently declared a de facto blockade of Russian maritime cargo traffic.
3/ The news has been greeted by Russian warbloggers with resignation and complaints about the deficiencies of the Black Sea Fleet. 'Informant' writes:
"Responses to such attacks are purely political, as they involve the destruction of ships and bulk carriers heading to Odesa."
1/ Relationships between neighbouring Russian units in the Pokrovsk area are reportedly so tense that commanders have had to publish instructions on how to behave – including refraining from stealing from each other. A lack of training and incompetent command is blamed. ⬇️
2/ 'Callsign OSETIN' explains the context:
"Comrades in Pokrovsk, I'm addressing you. Information is coming in from various units that there's discord between some units; no one wants to cooperate, and no one likes their neighbours, blaming each other for everything."
3/ "If this is true, I ask all soldiers, including brigade commanders, to resolve this issue and forget all grievances. We have one enemy, and squabbling among ourselves is absolutely unacceptable, especially when several cities containing U.S. forces [sic] are about to fall.
1/ The Wall Street Journal reports that the main focus of the US-Russia peace talks is to get commercial advantage for American companies, and personal benefits for individuals linked to the Trump Administration. European officials are said to be shocked by the plans. ⬇️
2/ According to the WSJ, talks between Trump's golfing friend Steve Witkoff, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev have bypassed the US national security and diplomatic apparatuses to focus on economic benefits for well-connected American companies.
3/ The paper reports that "a cast of businessmen close to the Trump administration have been looking to position themselves as new economic links between the U.S. and Russia." Friends of the Trump family and Trump donors are working on lucrative deals with Russian companies.
1/ The Russian army has to rely on modified civilian vehicles purchased with soldiers' own money, because military trucks are in such short supply. According to a Russian soldier-warblogger, units have to wait between 5 to 12 months to receive trucks. ⬇️
2/ Probably as a result of heavy losses due to Ukrainian attacks and a slowdown of production at Russian manufacturers, trucks are now scarce in the Russian army. Light vehicles and motorcycles are not supplied by the army, forcing soldiers to buy them themselves.
3/ 'Vault No. 8' comments:
"It wasn't until mid-2024 that the regiment finally received a few Chinese buggies out of the 1,500 sent to the Special Military Operation."
"Rule 47. Attacking persons who are recognized as hors de combat is prohibited. A person hors de combat is:...
(b) anyone who is defenceless because of unconsciousness, shipwreck, wounds or sickness...
3/ "... provided he or she abstains from any hostile act and does not attempt to escape."
I expect that Hegseth and others involved will get a preemptive pardon from Trump eventually, but they might want to avoid travelling outside America for the rest of their lives.