Thread by @ChrisO_wiki

1/ Ukraine was reportedly able to breach Russia's fortifications in the Kursk region in August 2024 because of a massive fraud by Russian constructors and politicians, with fake companies, fake workers, substituted materials, and trenches made of "shit and sticks". ⬇️

2/ Prior to the incursion, the authorities in Moscow sent the Kursk regional government $230 million to fortify the border. At least $50 million is said to have been stolen. On 16 April 2025 former governor Alexei Smirmov and his former deputy were arrested on corruption charges.

3/ Smirnov (shown here) is currently in pre-trial detention and is accused of personally stealing more than a billion rubles. Three heads of the Kursk Region Development Corporation and a number of company executives were also arrested.

https://x.com/i/status/1913170187890598342

4/ The federal investigation has reportedly uncovered a host of frauds, scams and thefts. Authorities allege that participating contractors were required to pay kickbacks of at least 15% of contract values. In addition, much of the work was never done or was done below standards.

5/ Russian journalist and warblogger Anastasia Kashevarova has for some time been campaigning on the issue of how the border was so easily breached by the Ukrainians, who were able to break through the fortifications within hours of starting the 6 August 2024 incursion.

6/ Kashevarova provides details of how the fraud allegedly operated, likely provided by sources within the investigation:

7/ "More than 4,000 people from 42 organizations were involved in the construction of fortifications in Kursk Oblast. This was stated by Smirnov and [former deputy governor] Dedov, who have now been arrested.

8/ "What turned out to be true: some of the firms were fake, people worked without registration or were listed as "self-employed", the work was poor quality, its cost was inflated, and the deadlines were missed."

9/ She highlights the case of the fortifications around the border villages of Popovo-Lezhachi and Tetkino, which were built by the SIEMI company. "The employees of this company, like 42 other [companies], are responsible for the security of the region."

10/ "And now, in fact, in LLC "SIEMI"only 9 people were employed, including administrative staff, and there was not a single professional builder among them, and the company did not have any equipment or machinery.

11/ "According to the documents, only 4 people were officially employed at the construction site, that is, 4 people (four people!!!) have been building fortifications since November 2022, spending 22 million rubles [$267,723].

12/ "LLC "SIEMI" recruited people, but did not formalise employment contracts with them. Some were registered as self-employed, others were just day labourers. The money came to the cards of the self-employed, and they then distributed the money to other workers.

13/ "The employer paid 4,000 rubles per shift daily, food and accommodation at the expense of the employer.

14/ "They took almost everyone, the probationary period at LLC "SIEMI" was 3 days, because the work was very hard and this time was enough for people to assess their capabilities.

15/ "Digging trenches, installing inconspicuous obstacles - all this was paid separately in cash. There was no system or professional approach to the construction of a defence facility. And then LLC "SIEMI" sent the workers home 'before the team', without paying them their wages.

16/ "That is, the company relied on marginalized workers, drinkers, even gypsies worked, for them it was a bribe, and accordingly, the quality of their work was corresponding. And if they were suddenly cheated out of money, then they would not go anywhere to complain."

17/ The cheated workers did complain to the regional authorities, but were stonewalled. Kashevarova says that the company had a 'roof' (protection from senior officials). However, she says, federal authorities became suspicious about their tax affairs:

18/ "42 companies, some of which are pocket [i.e. fake] and associated with the regional leadership, received contracts of 20 million or more, hired people unofficially, did not pay salaries, did not pay taxes, somehow built structures, but were given an 80% advance. How is that?

19/ "Some small companies with a staff of 9 people and no equipment for construction, were given an 80% advance by the state? Well, and then these companies began to spend money on luxury cars and other expensive toys."

20/ To make matters worse, the contractors carried out a scam in which expensive materials were substituted for cheap ones, or structures were built below the required standard, with the money ending up in contractors' and politicians' pockets.

21/ She cites an example from the case documents: "for shields that strengthen the walls of the trenches, instead of coniferous wood, they used boards from ordinary poplar, which are several times cheaper and do not provide reliable strengthening of the trench walls."

22/ "And for the arrangement of the dugout floors, logs of different diameters and different types were used, which reduced the strength of the structure and the effectiveness of combat use."

23/ The dragon's teeth shown being bulldozed in the video at the top of this thread were manufactured by a company called Spetsprom 1. Investigators found that they were made 10 cm or more below the required size on each edge to save on the materials used to construct them.

24/ The dragon's teeth were also made of substandard concrete – M200 grade for domestic use, rather than M500 for industrial use. As a result, they fell apart in rain and snow, and could not withstand Ukrainian combat engineering vehicles.

25/ Kashevarova says that "the metal forms, according to which the tetrahedrons were made, were urgently destroyed by the manufacturer after the fraud was revealed." Despite everything being substandard, it was all signed off by the Kursk Region Development Corporation.

26/ As she points out, red flags were raised about the construction project well before the Ukrainian incursion. (It's quite possible that the Ukrainians knew about the fraud and factored it into their decision about where to start the offensive.)

27/ She writes: "Lawyers, human rights activists, subcontractors, and deceived citizens have been complaining to all law enforcement agencies since January 2024 about fraud during the construction of fortifications in the Kursk region."

28/ "Local media and bloggers controlled by the governor shut them up, claiming that this was [information warfare] and deliberate discrediting.

29/ "Kursk law enforcement agencies have repeatedly refused to initiate criminal cases on the fact of fraud during the construction of fortifications. And this refusal came from above, and was lobbied by the governor's administration."

30/ A breakthrough came only when federal investigators became involved and discovered the fraud involving the dragon's teeth. Smirnov was dismissed by Putin in December 2024 and was arrested in his luxury Moscow penthouse by federal authorities. /end

Sources:
🔹 t.me/akashevarova/7…
🔹 t.me/akashevarova/7…
🔹 t.me/akashevarova/7…
🔹 kyivpost.com/post/50975
🔹 nytimes.com/2025/04/16/wor…
🔹 meduza.io/feature/2025/0…
🔹 (Fortification map by @bradyafr)