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/ Russian units are sustaining losses of 70-95% – with only the command staff being left alive in the latter case – before being declared combat ineffective, according to a Russian source. This is a far higher level of accepted casualties than in World War II. ⬇️
2/ The author of the 'Vault No. 8' Telegram channel discusses the level of losses at which a unit is considered to have lost combat readiness and requires withdrawal for replenishment, according to US Army doctrine (though misattributed here to Clausewitz):
3/ "If I remember correctly, then when 30% of personnel losses are reached, the same assault company must be withdrawn for replenishment in order to preserve the experienced core of the unit ...
1/ Aeroflot has come in for ridicule after it was reported that pro-Ukrainian hackers found its CEO had not changed his password for three years. However, it's been reported that password management was the responsibility of a specialist FSB unit, which is now being blamed. ⬇️
2/ The VChK-OGPU Telegram channel reports that sources say there is "panic in the ranks of the FSB's Department T in connection with the hacker attack on Aeroflot."
3/ "The special service employees who supervise transport infrastructure once again found themselves on the front line and were unable to ensure the security of yet another strategic facility.
1/ Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov's recent near-drowning in Bodrum is reportedly suspected to have been a suicide attempt. He is said to have slipped away from his bodyguards and entered the sea in a presumed one-way trip, but was saved by beach lifeguards. ⬇️
2/ The VChK-OGPU Telegram channel reports on rumours around the incident which took place on 24 July at the Turkish resort of Bodrum, according to local media. According to the channel, Kadyrov was alone on the beach at the time.
3/ "The guards on the beach helped him, called an ambulance, and Kadyrov was taken to a private hospital. One of the TV channels showed Kadyrov's motorcade with an ambulance leaving the hospital grounds.
1/ Russian warblogger Andrey Filatov has narrowly survived an FPV drone strike. He says he inadvertently got ahead of the protection of a vehicle.l equipped with electronic warfare equipment. ⬇️
2/ "Almost got caught, but the [Ukrainians] couldn't [manage it].
Situation.
Situation.
We had a jamming post of Chistyuli-Ornithologists, which covered the direction and the road of life/death. There were no serious problems there for almost a month.
3/ "Then the post position was changed and ... the guys made a mistake. They began to see further, and the road ended up in the radio shadow.
1/ A Russian artilleryman has written a highly critical commentary on the way that the Russian army manages small units, which he says discourages independent thought and empowers "scoundrels". ⬇️
2/ The 'Ghost of Novorossiya' Telegram channel posts the thoughts of an artilleryman with the callsign 'Lame', about the controls of small units at the platoon-company/battery level:
3/ "1. The old army maxim does not work: "Until you have risen to the rank of colonel, you do not need to think. Just follow orders." In general, it is a bad habit not to think, and in a modern war it is fraught with death.
1/ The defendants in the case of the 22 March 2024 terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall venue near Moscow, in which 145 people died, have appeared in court this week. The testimony of an alleged ringleader has been published, providing a detailed account of the plot. ⬇️
2/ Shamsiddin Fariduni, allegedly the leader of the terrorists who attacked Crocus, was photographed shortly after his capture being tortured by the FSB. He appeared to have been severely beaten before his first appearance in court. His testimony should be read with this in mind.
3/ According to his testimony, Fariduni had a criminal record in his native Tajikistan for "committing a crime against sexual inviolability." He went to Russia to get a job in Podolsk, where he became interested in radical Islam and subscribed to ISIS-linked Telegram channels.