ChrisO_wiki Profile picture
Nov 2, 2024 10 tweets 3 min read Read on X
1/ US citizen Daniel Martindale, who has disclosed that he spied on Ukraine for Russia for two years, worked alongside German volunteers as an aid worker in frontline towns near Vuhledar and Pokrovsk. It's likely that he used this as cover to spy on the Ukrainian Armed Forces. ⬇️ Image
2/ Martindale's extraction by Russian forces was publicised in an announcement on 27 October by the military authorities in the 'Donetsk People's Republic'. He spoke in much more detail in a Moscow press conference on 2 November.
3/ The German news outlet t-online reports that German volunteers in the Vuhledar region recall Martindale working with them to deliver aid from the end of 2022. According to the volunteer, "he introduced himself to us as Daniel from Indiana."
4/ Martindale spoke very fluent German: "It was striking how well [he spoke German]. You could hear the slightly slurred accent, otherwise it was flawless." He also spoke Polish, Chinese, and Russian fluently.
5/ The German volunteer says that Martindale came under previous suspicion. According to a local partner, he repeatedly disappeared for short periods, and also when a US aid group was in the region. He is said to have travelled around with the Ukrainian military administration.
6/ Martindale was active in unloading and distributing aid supplies in Selydove near Pokrovsk and near Vuhledar, where the Russians say he gave them information that enabled them to capture Bohoiavlenka on 27 October. He was photographed helping the German volunteers.
7/ Martindale was "noticeably reticent about giving information about himself." However, the German volunteer says that secrecy is not unusual near the front and is in fact strongly recommended: "Our helpers do not introduce themselves there with their real names." /end

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More from @ChrisO_wiki

Jul 7
1/ Former Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoit, who shot himself today shortly after his dismissal by President Putin, was reportedly about to be charged with a 15 billion ruble ($190 million) fraud over the construction of border fortifications in Russia's Kursk region. ⬇️ Image
2/ According to the VChK-OGPU Telegram channel, "the dismissal of Roman Starovoit was only a pretext for bringing him to criminal responsibility."
3/ "The order of the president to remove him from office due to failure to fulfill his duties (massive transport collapses) and the dismissal happened on the same day.
Read 24 tweets
Jul 6
1/ Russian soldiers at the front lines in Ukraine are unable to obtain vital electrical supplies. A Russian warblogger appeals for help to overcome what he calls "greed and bureaucracy", which also illustrates the Russian army's inability to provide basic equipment. ⬇️ Image
2/ 'Chronicles of the SVO communications' writes:

"We, military signalmen, have a simple and very difficult front — every day we fight not only against electronic warfare and the weather, but also against a banal shortage: equipment, cable, splitters, power, consumables."
3/ "A network is not built out of thin air, and communication in a dugout will not appear if you only have duct tape and a prayer. We constantly resort to the help of volunteers who pull this work out literally by the skin of their teeth."
Read 13 tweets
Jul 6
1/ The Russian army has issued an appeal for volunteers to provide supplies to help the forthcoming Zapad-2025 military exercise, illustrating a lack of basic resources. Russian warbloggers aren't impressed and call it "sad". ⬇️ Image
2/ Russia's regular Zapad military exercise with Belarus is going ahead this autumn for the first time since 2021, mostly taking place on Belarussian soil. The 2023 exercise was cancelled, and it's likely that the scale of the 2025 exercise will be limited due to the ongoing war.
3/ An appeal by the Combined Arms Army of the 2nd Leningrad Military District has illustrated the shortage of resources currently faced by the Russian military. A message apparently circulated on Telegram reads:
Read 7 tweets
Jul 5
1/ A recent video of a Russian soldier, likely in his 70s, hobbling to the front line in Ukraine reflects how Russia's army is becoming increasingly elderly. "Now all the personnel are grandfathers ... they are being mowed down," say Russian soldiers. ⬇️
2/ An investigation by the independent Russian news outlet Verstka highlights the changing age profile of the Russian army. Soldiers on the front line have recorded and spoken about the increasing number of "grandfathers" – soldiers over 50s – their units are receiving.
3/ The recruitment of the elderly is being driven by huge casualties. One soldier serving in the Donetsk region says: "Since the beginning of the summer [of 2024], our regiment has lost about half its men, 200s and 300, [killed and wounded] near Chasiv Yar, roughly 500 people."
Read 24 tweets
Jul 5
1/ Workers at the giant KAMAZ vehicle plant in Naberezhnye Chelny, Russia, have been banned from bringing in purchased food due to fears of being poisoned by Ukrainians. The move likely reflects increasing official paranoia about Ukrainian sabotage attacks deep inside Russia. ⬇️ Image
2/ The Vesti KAMAZ newspaper reports: "At the facilities of PJSC KAMAZ in Naberezhnye Chelny, a temporary ban on bringing in food products has been introduced by order on ensuring biological and chemical safety of workers."
3/ "Until this measure is cancelled, which will be announced by a separate order, KAMAZ workers are not allowed to bring in either ordered or store-bought food into the buildings, with the exception of containers with home-cooked food and for personal consumption. Image
Read 8 tweets
Jul 5
1/ A recent commentary about the Russian army's political officers has struck a chord with frontline officers. They say the army frequently appoints "the most useless person" in a unit – "alcoholics and morons" – who do little to help with morale. ⬇️
2/ Russian warblogger Svyatoslav Golikov reports on positive reaction to the commentary which he published last week, in which he criticised the "stupid and unnecessary" work that political officers do, which he says is severely disconnected from the realities of the front line.
3/ He argues that the political cadre's leadership "not only does not see the real problems with the conduct of military-political work and the moral and psychological state of the personnel of our troops, but also categorically does not want to see them."
Read 20 tweets

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