1/ As Ukrainian forces advance in the Kursk region, law and order in frontline Russian-held areas is reported to have collapsed completely. "Rampant looting" is said have broken out – being done by the Russians themselves – while local residents say they feel abandoned. ⬇️
2/ The VChK-OGPU Telegram channel reports that "in the border areas of the Kursk region, where fighting has been going on all week, there are no police, no firefighters, no doctors, no representatives of the administration.
3/ "According to official information, more than 76,000 people left the settlements (most of them left on their own, since there was no organized evacuation, despite the statements of the authorities), but there are still people there, mostly elderly."
4/ The channel says that "the desertion of villages and towns has become a catalyst for rampant looting". The disorder is being carried out by the Russians themselves, though it isn't clear if opportunistic civilians or indisciplined soldiers are responsible.
5/ A local resident says: "They are robbing stores, there is a collapse in Korenevo, the “Magnit” [supermarket, pictured below] was simply destroyed. There is no water, no gas, no electricity.
6/ "There was no organized evacuation, and if there was, then why didn’t we hear anything about it in Lobanovka [an outlying area of Korenevo]?"
According to VChK-OGPU, "a similar situation exists in other border municipalities."
7/ It reports that "Kursk residents are sure that representatives of the [regional] administration, having abandoned people to their fate, themselves provoked the collapse in the border areas.
8/ "Currently, it is impossible to get through to the administration of the Korenevsky district of the Kursk region. People are forced to self-organise in order to protect themselves and their property and essentially perform the functions of state and law enforcement agencies."
Addendum: The Ukrainians have now published a video which shows soldiers, possibly from the Rosgvardia, looting an abandoned Russian house in the Kursk region. New thread here:
1/ Russian warbloggers are very upset at the prospect of a ceasefire in Ukraine that leaves the objectives of the 'Special Military Operation' unfulfilled. One asks, "does the death of my boys mean nothing [but] a dog's dick and a hole after the assault?" ⬇️
2/ The prominent Russian war correspondent and propagandist Alexander Sladkov has aroused controversy by arguing that Russia is not fighting for territory but "for Russia’s status in the new global world order that is currently being formed."
3/ "The SMO is part of Moscow's global plan to return to the status ranks. We are breaking in by force, pushing the EU, taking what is rightfully ours – a fair position in the international economy and politics.
1/ A prominent Russian fixer is reportedly selling access to Donald Trump at the planned forthcoming Trump-Putin summit in Moscow for $2 million a head. It's likely to be aimed at Russian oligarchs seeking lucrative commercial opportunities from a US-Russia deal. ⬇️
2/ The VChK-OGPU Telegram channel reports:
"Although the situation with Donald Trump's possible visit to Moscow is still very vague, tickets for a closed event with the US President have gone on sale. The cost is $2 million.
3/ As a VChK-OGPU source reported, one of the biggest Russian fixers, Valery Bitayev, who positions himself as a person close to the first deputy director of the FSB of the Russian Federation Sergei Korolev, officials of the Presidential Administration of the…
1/ Despite promises from the Russian government, wounded soldiers are routinely being denied medical examinations, psychiatric assistance, or prosthetic limbs, leading to sick, limbless and brain-damaged men being returned to the front lines. ⬇️
2/ The Russian warblogger Anastasia Kashevarova, who has written repeatedly about the mistreatment of Russia's wounded, has posted a comparison of official claims and the reality of what the men are facing.
3/ "I will say that the reports from officials and from those who work on the ground, who are really immersed in the topic, were strikingly different...
1/ Vladimir Putin is demanding that Ukraine should hold a presidential election in wartime. Nazi Germany demanded the same of Britain in July 1942. This is the story of why the UK delayed holding elections throughout World War II. ⬇️
2/ There were no General Elections in the UK between 1935 and July 1945, making the wartime Parliament the longest in modern British history. Whereas Ukraine's constitution prohibits holding elections under martial law, the UK Parliament had to vote annually to prolong itself.
3/ This was not the first time it had been done. Five prolongations were passed between 1916 and 1918 to extend the life of the Parliament that had been elected in December 1910. During WW2, five Prolongation of Parliament Acts were passed between 1940 and 1944.
1/ Without detracting at all from the stunning success of this Ukrainian operation, it's clear that Russian failings – specifically corruption and poor safety – were a major factor in making it possible.
3/ Additionally, around 30% of the construction budget for building and expanding the Toropets depot is said to have been stolen, likely through substituting cheap flammable materials for more expensive fireproof ones.
1/ A civil engineer who was mobilised into the Russian army despite ill-health has escaped to Germany and spoken about the chaos and brutality he saw. His regiment was told by its commander: "You came here to die." He was later arrested and tortured for trying to flee. ⬇️
2/ 44-year-old Georgy from Lyubertsy near Moscow has told his story to Radio Free Europe. He was mobilised in September 2022 despite serious heart problems and was sent to a training ground where he "wandered aimlessly" and "fired a few times from rusty automatic rifles".
3/ He had protested against being mobilised but was assured initially that he would be sent to a construction battalion, where his skills as a civil engineer would be valuable. Despite this, he was sent to a front-line Russian unit fighting in Ukraine in November 2022.