1/ Russian soldiers are reported to be causing chaos in military hospitals, threatening to blow themselves up with grenades, attacking and attempting to rape other patients, robbing patients, drinking, starting fights and calling prostitutes to their wards. ⬇️
2/ The VChK-OGPU Telegram channel reports on a series of cases in which hospitals have been seriously disrupted by misbehaving soldiers. The situation is reported to be deteriorating, as hospitals are overflowing with thousands of wounded men evacuated from Ukraine.
3/ In one of the most dramatic incidents, a military hospital near Solnechnogorsk near Moscow had to be stormed by security forces after a soldier threatened to detonate three grenades he had smuggled in. Hospitals across the region will now be searched for hidden weapons.
4/ The same hospital was also the site of a soldier's attempted murder of another man. The victim, a contract soldier called Sergei Bankin (pictured), was stabbed by a convicted criminal turned soldier named Yevgeny Shevtsov who had a grudge against Bankin.
5/ Shevtsov is said to have come to Bankin's ward in the middle of the night and stabbed him while he was sleeping, causing serious injuries. Bankin had to have a damaged organ removed and is in a serious condition. Shevtsov is being sent back to the front lines.
6/ Civilians are also at risk, as wounded soldiers are also being treated in civilian hospitals. 31-year-old Alexander Ivanov, another soldier with multiple criminal convictions, was sent to a hospital for war veterans in Zhilino, which treats civilians as well.
7/ After 'cleaning out' at least four wards, stealing money and phones from patients, Ivanov attempted to rape an elderly woman on ward 303. He stripped and beat her before fleeing from the hospital. Police eventually caught him and handed him over to the military authorities.
8/ Soldiers at the same hospital are also reported to have called prostitutes to their wards. VChK-OGPU reports that "a woman with severe alcohol poisoning, who came to the servicemen on call, was recently urgently evacuated from the hospital in Zhilino." /end
1/ A Russian city is literally drowning in human waste due to the failure of its sewage system. It's worn out but hasn't been replaced or repaired due to a lack of funding. It's a vivid illustration of the costs imposed by Russia's money being redirected to the war in Ukraine. ⬇️
2/ Balakhna is an historic city of around 51,000 people, founded in 1474 on the banks of the Volga River about 32 kilometers (20 mi) north of Nizhny Novgorod. However, its underfunded sewage system has collapsed, with the result that "the city is literally flooded with shit".
3/ Balakhna native Alexander Kartavykh – a Russian warblogger – has been highlighting the city's problems in a series of posts on Telegram. He says that "the pumps aren't working, everything's broken, it's a complete and utter disaster."
1/ Russian forces are making extensive use of infiltration tactics in place of the notorious 'meat assaults', according to a new report by @jack_watling. However, a Russian warblogger says that this is costing 2 or 3 times as many cumulative casualties as massed assaults. ⬇️
2/ The DShRG Rusich Telegram channel has published a video taken by a Russian soldier on an infiltration mission. He follows a path along a treeline which was used by many other Russian soldiers on similar missions – dozens of whom can be seen lying dead along the way.
3/ The channel's author writes:
"The tactic of infiltrating small groups (2-3 people), unfortunately, often results in greater losses than a single massive assault. Yes, on video, it looks tragic from the enemy side, with several units of equipment being destroyed."
1/ A Russian colonel reportedly died of cardiac arrest after it was discovered during a rotation that he had been lying to his superiors about his division's control of territory in the Kherson region. ⬇️
2/ Colonel Alexey Vladlenovich Plisov, callsign 'Ryazan', was the commander of the Russian 70th Motor Rifle Division of the 18th Combined Arms Army. The division was located on the left bank of the Dnipro river.
3/ Plisov is said to have repeatedly reported to his superiors that most of the islands in the Kherson region were under Russian control. However, Ukrainian reports and independent assessments have consistently assigned the islands to the 'grey zone' controlled by neither side.
1/ Russia is said to be lagging far behind Ukraine in drone production, with as many as 40 to 100 Ukrainian drones for every Russian one. An angry commentary from a Russian warblogger complains of an ongoing failure by Russia to produce enough drones for the front. ⬇️
2/ 'Voenkor Kotenok' writes: "For those infinitely removed from the front line and who understand the war as a stream of official media reports, let me explain: at the moment, full-scale counter-attacks are taking place in many directions and sectors of the…
3/ …Special Military Operation, involving small units/groups/detachments. The fighting is fierce, with varying success, with individual terrain, positions, strongholds, and the ruins of populated areas changing hands four or five times.
1/ Russian convicts are refusing en masse to join the army, according to the jailed Igor 'Strelkov' Girkin. In contrast to Yevgeny Prigozhin's recruitment campaigns in 2022-23, which attracted tens of thousands of recruits, distrust of the army is now said to be universal. ⬇️
2/ Girkin, who was jailed last year, is reportedly being held in the IK-5 penal colony in Kirovo-Chepetsk in the Kirov region. The facility specialises in holding ex-security officials (Girkin is ex-FSB). As such it might normally be expected to provide plenty of army recruits.
3/ The reality is very different though, according to Girkin. Interestingly, he says that the imprisonment of deserters is causing the wider prison population to become more aware of how the army treats its men and makes them more resistent to recruitment efforts:
1/ The constant presence of drones has fundamentally changed the nature of the war in Ukraine, according to Russian warblogger Alexander Kharchenko. The only way to survive is to stay underground, and it can take days to travel just a few kilometres. ⬇️
2/ On his Telegram channel 'Witnesses of Bayraktar', Karchenko writes:
"Movement is life. In the Special Military Operation, this axiom has taken on new meaning. Just a year ago, you could zip into Novohrodivka on a motorcycle and be out before sunset."
3/ "Now, such a scenario resembles a Hollywood blockbuster about tough guys. In real life, the brave and courageous move from one shelter to another. It can take a week to walk ten kilometres.