Thread by @kromark

🧵/ link in the last tweet. Many of you have seen these Russian fortification lines on satellite images and maps. Thanks to Russian soldiers taking selfies there, together with @pustota, we can now show you how they look from the ground.

https://twitter.com/Nrg8000/status/1667119808494829568

You can see a camouflaged Soviet 100-mm MT-12 anti-tank gun and the ammo boxes. Some 'dragon's teeth' are visible in the background. This allows us to geolocate this photo to the N-E of Tokmak, less than 30 km from where the Ukrainian offensive is underway (47.31786, 35.84679)

Here's how this exact part of the Russian fortification line looks on the @planet satellite image:

The guy also posted another photo from the area, with military trucks and equipment hidden in the woods, but clearly visible in his photo (archive.is/WNdZ6). Both this and the previous photo were posted on May 15th.

The guy came to Ukraine from Stavropol via Grozny as a volunteer after 'studying' at the 'Russian Spetznaz University' ('RUS'), created by Ramzan Kadyrov to fill his 'Akhmat' units due to the lack of volunteers from Chechnya itself.

Recently, 'RUS' became the first to sign an official contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense, which grants its soldiers an equal status to that of regular Russian troops.
rferl.org/a/russia-chech…

Why 'RUS'? You can see from the RU MoD video of signing the contract. (h/t @gorianov)

We have found yet another Russian soldier who came to Zaporizhzhia via 'RUS'. Their training camp is based in Gudermes, Chechnya, and is considered 'luxurious' compared to the camps for Russian mobiks.

This guy is now waiting for the Ukrainian troops to come his way near the village of Novoprokopivka, on the road leading from Orekhiv to Tokmak. He even has a DIY periscope made from a wooden bar and a car mirror!

'To Kyiv!' is written on his patch. Quite wishful thinking for a person waiting for the Ukrainian offensive hundreds of kilometers away from the country's capital.

More fighters from Chechnya in Zaporizhzhia (not sure if they came via 'RUS'). This photo was posted on May 20th and can be easily geolocated near Azovske (46.804624, 36.658420). I wonder if there were Ukrainian strikes on that date (as seen by the smoke plume in the background).

Jokes aside, those Russian fortifications would be a major challenge for the Ukrainian army, not only due to the fortifications themselves but also when combined with Russian aviation and artillery. For more analysis, you can read it here: rusi.org/explore-our-re…

Now that the Ukrainian offensive has started, I would like to thank @bradyafr once again for his efforts in mapping all these fortifications. This is incredibly helpful in our work.

https://twitter.com/bradyafr/status/1668390314451632128

Read the full story here: svoboda.org/a/selfi-v-ozhi… Huge credits to our colleagues from @kavkaz_realii!

In previous episodes: Russian "selfie-soldiers" in Kherson oblast prior to the Russian troops retreat:

https://twitter.com/kromark/status/1565333536558956549

In previous episodes 2: Russian "selfie-soldiers" in Kharkiv oblast shortly before they fled in panic:

https://twitter.com/kromark/status/1568254400530890760

/END