1/ The Russian army is reintroducing so-called 'death medallions' of the World War II era, which soldiers also call 'suicide capsules', to enable dead soldiers to be identified years or even decades later. Up to now, they have been wrapping their personal data around bullets. ⬇️
2/ The original 'death medallion' was a small Bakelite capsule containing a roll of paper giving a soldier's personal details, in order to facilitate his identification after serious injury or death. It was introduced by the Red Army after the Winter War with Finland in 1939-40.
3/ The capsules were extremely durable and are still being used today to identify the bodies of Red Army troops, of whom 4,559,000 were listed as missing at the end of World War II.
4/ The Russian 'Evil Sailor' Telegram channel reports that "the old farts in big shoulder straps surprised us again by sending down a new "piece of paper" from their offices: ENSURE THAT THE SOLDIERS HAVE CAPSULES WITH PERSONAL DATA!"
5/ Until now, the channel says, soldiers have been wrapping their personal data around 5.45 mm bullets, unprotected from the elements. It seems unlikely that this would last long in daily life in the trenches, let alone on a decaying corpse.
6/ Russian volunteers have responded by 3D-printing thousands of plastic capsules to send to the troops at the front. They say that the work "is capricious due to the presence of threads, but we have been through worse." /end
1/ A Russian warblogger who administered the 'Management Speaks' Telegram channel is reported to have died in an assault. A few weeks before he died, he described a day in the (short) life of a Russian stormtrooper. ⬇️
2/ 'Management Speaks' was run by a Russian in his 50s called Konstantin (callsign 'Donetsk'). On 7 March, another administrator on the channel wrote:
3/ "Hello everyone! I ask you to support Donetsk, a man of extraordinary destiny, this old man will outlive all of us young, luck is clearly on his side🫡"
Apparently not.
On 14 February, 'Donetsk' wrote an account of his first-hand experiences as a stormtrooper.
1/ Bureaucracy and perverse incentives in the Russian army make it easier for an officer to shoot a troublesome soldier, tie him to a tree, or send him to his death as a punishment, than to go through formal disciplinary procedures, according to a Russian commentary. ⬇️
2/ A Russian soldier (likely an officer) writes to the 'Philosopher in ambush' Telegram channel to explain why commanders deliberately send their men to their deaths as a punishment:
3/ "What tools do junior commanders have? In the event of a disciplinary offence, the commander is obliged to conduct an investigation (where to find the time?), approve it with a lawyer and a political officer, who will find fault not only with a comma,...
1/ Public donations to the Russian war effort have recently collapsed, according to unhappy Russian warbloggers. They blame this development on the current talks between Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, which seems to have convinced many Russians that peace is imminent. ⬇️
2/ The warblogger 'Thirteenth' writes: "In view of the empty talk about the allegedly upcoming truces, all this has had a significant impact on aid to the front, the collection has noticeably fallen. In fact, for each necessary position we have to find funds with difficulty."
3/ "I ask you all, do not relax, the war continues and our men today need a lot for stable, combat work.
1/ The Russian army is illegally sending soldiers infected with HIV and hepatitis to fight on the front line in Ukraine, where they are unable to get treatment or life-saving drugs. The men's relatives say they are 'slowly dying' and putting other wounded men at risk. ⬇️
2/ Radio Free Europe reports that despite the legal prohibition on allowing men with communicable diseases to serve in the Russian armed forces, the Russian army's insatiable demand for manpower means that it is illegally forcing infected men to fight.
3/ In many cases, the infections are the result of poor hygiene by the army's own medical services, which has resulted in HIV and hepatitis being transmitted between wounded men. Instead of being discharged and treated, they are being forced to go back to the front lines.
1/ Elon Musk's Starlink is now just as crucial for Russian forces fighting in Ukraine as it is for the Ukrainian defenders. A mass deactivation of many Russian Starlink terminals last month has prompted an unusually frank assessment of much the Russians now depend on it. ⬇️
2/ Russia has been able to equip many of its troops with Starlink terminals bought and activated in third countries. They cannot be deactivated through geoblocking, as the front lines are so close together that it would also deactivate the Ukrainian Starlinks.
3/ However, Starlink has deactivated batches of Starlinks which it has identified as being illegally imported into Russia. This led to a mass deactivation of many Russian Starlink terminals along the front lines in early February 2025.
1/ The apparent intention to destroy Voice of America and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty comes with a bleak conclusion: the United States is no longer interested in promoting democracy, because it's no longer interested in democracy.
2/ VOA was founded in 1942 to broadcast American news, values and culture - especially music - to countries across the world, many of which were under enemy occupation at the time. It gained a new purpose in the struggle against Communism in the Cold War.
3/ Many of those who lived in Eastern Europe under Communism can testify to the importance that VOA played in breaking through state censorship. During the early 1950s, almost every defector from the Soviet bloc cited VOA as an influence in their decision to defect.