Thread by @ChrisO_wiki

1/ A high-ranking officer of the Russian aerospace forces (VKS) is reported to have died by suicide in the Moscow region. He is said to have despaired of the bad working conditions and "criminal orders of the commanders" in the VKS Communications Centre. ⬇️

2/ Yuri Annenkov, the head of the 678th Communications Centre of the Aerospace Defense Force, is reported by the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel to have taken his own life at the end of last week in a forest belt in Balashikha, just east of Moscow.

3/ The channel reports: "Three empty bottles of vodka and empty pill packages were found next to the body, and at home, relatives found a suicide note in which the commander complains of despair and says goodbye."

4/ "The tragedy occurred due to a conflict with the unit's leadership. Recently, Yuri had been deeply depressed and shared that the conditions at work were unbearable: no rest and inadequate behaviour of the command.

5/ "Annenkov's colleagues and relatives are waiting to be called in to give an explanation, to tell about the reasons for the suicide in detail, as well as about the situation in the unit and the criminal orders of the commanders because of which the officer killed himself.

6/ Yuriy Annenkov served in the Aerospace Forces for about 20 years and was one of those who tried to resist the chaos and disorder in the Aerospace Forces that emerged with the start of the war in Ukraine."

7/ The VKS has been very badly mauled by the war in Ukraine, and by now is likely to have lost most of its pre-war personnel. The chaotic situation it faced was described in detail in mid-2022 by a parachutist, Pavel Filatyev, who later fled Russia.

https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1560022545356791810

8/ Annenkov's death is a reminder that while Russian commanders may often be far from the battlefield (and have justifiably been widely blamed for causing huge casualties with their tactics), war can also put a great deal of mental strain on HQ staff. /end

Source:
t.me/vchkogpu/51159