1/ Russian soldiers who complained yesterday about their commander brutally beating their comrades, extorting them, and stealing from the dead, have reportedly been sent on a potentially suicidal combat mission – likely as retaliation for complaining. ⬇️
2/ The wife of Alexander Valerievich Shirinsky, a squad commander in the 506th Motorised Rifle Regiment, says that along with at least three other men "he was also brutally beaten on the night of August 24-25, tied to a tree for the whole night, his arms and legs are…
3/ …blue from the ropes, his face is covered in abrasions, he cannot walk, he also already had a wound – shrapnel in the chest, but Lt Col Voskoboev still sent him on a combat mission with shrapnel in the chest.
4/ "Now all those who suffered from his torture have been sent on a combat mission, in fact, they are the main witnesses of these crimes, there are many more victims. Battalion commander Voskoboev abuses alcohol, he is very cruel, I am very worried about my husband."
5/ According to the human rights organisation , Shirinsky said that he was beaten by four people seeking to "exert moral and physical pressure" on him. The beaten soldiers had previously not been allowed to wash, shave, or perform personal hygiene.Gulagu.net
6/ His wife says that Shirinsky is now in a very bad condition, not only from his previous shrapnel wound, but from a series of new injuries inflicted during the beating. "His arm did not move after the injury, and after all these violent actions, he cannot walk at all."
7/ "He managed to report that his arms and legs were swollen, his head and face were swollen, and cut. He repeatedly told me in conversation that his command abuses alcohol and treats its subordinates like expendable material.
8/ Today they were all sent on a combat mission and I am worried about him." /end
1/ Claims by pro-Russians that Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian Baltic ports went via Poland and the Baltic states have been met with scepticism by warblogger 'Fighterbomber'. If that's so, why has Russia not protested to those states?, he asks. ⬇️
2/ 'Fighterbomber', who has close links with the Russian Air Force, points out what Conan Doyle might have called the dog that didn't bark: the fact that the Russian government has said nothing about Ukrainian drones supposedly being routed over NATO territory:
3/ "Well, first of all, the airspace bordering Russia has been closed in countries like Poland and the Baltics for a long time.
Accusations from beauty bloggers that drones are being launched from the territory of these countries have been circulating for several years as well.
1/ With American ground forces building up in the Gulf region, much attention has been paid to Kharg Island in the northern Persian Gulf. But what about the Iranian-held islands in the Strait of Hormuz? Here's why they might be a higher priority for possible landings. ⬇️
2/ Seven Iranian-controlled islands punctuate the narrow strait between Iran and Oman: from west to east, Abu Musa, Greater and Lesser Tunb, Qeshm, Hengam, Larak and Hormuz itself. All are part of Iran's Hormozgan province.
3/ Two more Iranian islands, Bani Forur and Sirri, are located further west, in the Persian Gulf proper. They have strategic value as locations for reconnaissance, surveillance of shipping traffic, and possible interdiction. Both have an Iranian military presence.
1/ The Ukraine war is a "dead end" which "could last for a hundred years", according to a gloomy Russian commentary. The transparency of the battlefield and its domination by drones has made large offensives "downright impossible" and is causing vast numbers of casualties. ⬇️
2/ 'Voenkor Kotenok' has written a long and detailed analysis of the situation at the front lines, following similarly gloomy outlooks by other warbloggers (see the thread below).
3/ "I have repeatedly pointed out that the front in the Ukrainian theatre of military operations is in a stalemate. This situation took shape last year, marked by the Battle of Pokrovsk.
1/ An experiment by Russia's FSB has indicated that thousands of Russians are likely to be willing to carry out sabotage attacks on behalf of Ukraine or other foreign actors. In only three hours, the FSB recruited ten would-be saboteurs via Telegram. ⬇️
2/ Russia has experienced regular sabotage attacks carried out by people who have been recruited by foreign agents over the Internet, usually via Telegram. They are sometimes tricked into thinking they are working for the Russian security forces.
3/ More often, however, saboteurs act purely for money. Russia has used the same methodology to recruit saboteurs in Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe.
1/ Russian warbloggers are increasingly concluding that the war in Ukraine is stalemated and cannot be won by military means. Two prominent warbloggers have published gloomy commentaries explaining why. ⬇️
2/ 'Fighterbomber', a blogger with links to the Russian Air Force, comments:
"We still have 15% of Donbas left to liberate, and then Donbas will be liberated.
In my opinion, we have three main options."
3/ "The first is to continue the creeping offensive with varying success, regardless of losses, which will be, to put it mildly, very heavy.
Judging by the current slow pace, that [needs] at least five years.
1/ Russia should take advantage of the Iran war by launching a massive war-winning offensive to capture Kyiv and Odesa, says a prominent Russian warblogger. The conditions he identifies for Russia doing so, however, are so onerous that they are practically impossible to meet. ⬇️
2/ Alexey Zhivov asks:
"How is victory possible in the Special Military Operation?
After the capture of Pokrovsk, Myrnohrad, and the battle for Kupiansk, any significant news about the advancement of the Russian Armed Forces has ceased to come from the front."
3/ "All military action was reduced to an exchange of missile and drone strikes and [Kremlin spokesman Dmitry] Peskov's inappropriate statements about our great "concern" for the legitimacy of the Ukrainian government."