1/ The Russian army is recruiting incontinent, brain-damaged men who are incapable of fighting and are literally having to be carried around. A Russian warblogger protests the waste of resources that this represents. ⬇️
2/ Anastasia Kashevarova, a journalist and warblogger who has campaigned for the rights of Russian troops, highlights the ongoing problem of so-called "black recruiters" who recruit sick people into the army to meet arbitrary quotas and steal their recruitment bonuses.
3/ This is a widespread issue on which she has written before. Thousands of medically unfit men, many with infectious diseases like HIV and hepatitis, have been recruited. Some have been discharged, but many have ended up on the front lines.
4/ She writes: "I was sent a video of two servicemen: they show clear signs of mixed encephalopathy (of vascular and alcoholic origin), they move with difficulty (due to alcoholic polyneuropathy), and they have pelvic floor dysfunction…
5/ …(in common parlance, they pee and defecate in their own beds).
Both signed contracts about 10 days ago. When speaking to each other, neither knows where or how they signed the contract.
6/ "They walk with difficulty, pee and defecate in their own beds in the dugout, and stink. Since they are already at the base area, their commanders are obliged to send them to the training ground. Other servicemen are forced to literally carry them around.
7/ "Upon examination, they show no acute pathology. But clinically, disability due to chronic encephalopathy, coupled with long-term alcohol abuse and an antisocial lifestyle, is also a reality.
And these aren't isolated cases.
Why is this happening?
8/ "It's clear that people are needed at the front. There are regional quotas. But the regions are working in such a way that they cram everyone into the front lines. Our troops suffer, receiving such reinforcements who need to be carried.
9/ "Are these people unable to fight? They move with difficulty. This isn't the fault of the Ministry of Defence, but of those responsible in the rear.
10/ "The military is trying to fight, but superior generals are only given figures, while the figures for contract signatories don't indicate how many of them are unfit for military service.
11/ "Many of these people were recruited fraudulently while intoxicated. Their cards were taken by these same "black recruiters," that is, scammers, who pocketed their payments.
12/ "The FSB, the Investigative Committee, the Military Prosecutor's Office, and military investigative departments are fighting this, but scammers continue to profit from the war.
13/ "What's the point of hiring such soldiers? They won't be able to fight because other soldiers are forced to carry them around because it's just a shame, and the unit's combat effectiveness is diminished.
14/ "‼️We need to impose liability on those who hired such soldiers. This is a blow to our army. These people are on the payroll, and they're supposed to be a combat unit. But in reality, they're not.
15/ "And that’s one of the reasons why the guys can’t take leave or be rotated out, because the rear echelon is signing up unfit citizens!
16/ "This approach is neither financially nor strategically feasible. It would be better to spend this money on drones, while the state budget is being spent on scammers and sending asocial troops to the front who are incapable of fighting." /end
1/ Goldman Sachs analysts report that the biggest oil crisis in history is about to hit globally, with profound and highly destructive consequences. A new report asks ""Are We Running Out of Oil?", and concludes that the answer is yes. ⬇️
2/ Goldman reports that average daily flows of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz have fallen by 94% from their pre-war levels.
3/ This has led to a 63% collapse in the flow of oil and its refined products from the Middle East. Exports are down from 7.4 million to 2.8 million barrels per day of oil, 39% of which is flowing via a pipeline to Saudi Arabia's Red Sea ports.
1/ A shortage of drones reportedly means that Russian drone pilots often don't attack Ukrainian vehicles again after disabling them. This, says a serving Russian soldier, means that the Ukrainians are frequently able to retrieve disabled vehicles. ⬇️
2/ Russian forces in Ukraine have been complaining for a long time that they lack drones, with those provided by the Russian MOD being few and often of poor quality.
3/ Instead, they often have to rely on voluntary donations and unofficial drone production by the so-called 'people's military-industrial complex' – an ecosystem of enthusiasts and ex-military personnel who make or import drones for military use.
1/ News of the destruction of yet another US aircraft on the ground is being met with incredulity by Russian Air Force pilots. They ask if the United States has learned nothing from Russia's own very costly experiences. ⬇️
2/ 'The Voivode Broadcasts', a Telegram channel run by a group of Russian military helicopter pilots, expresses astonishment at pictures published overnight of a US CH-47 Chinook helicopter that was destroyed on the ground in Kuwait.
3/ "I look at this photo and realize that the Americans, with all their budgets and all, haven't studied or systematized our experience in any way.
1/ Russian army commanders are reportedly refusing to allow stored ZSU-23-4 Shilkas mobile anti-aircraft guns to be refurbished and put back into service, despite Russia's desperate need for more defences against Ukraine's increasingly large-scale drone strikes. ⬇️
2/ 'The Voivode Broadcasts', a Telegram channel written by three Russian Aerospace Force pilots, writes:
"I was talking to some guys from one of the repair battalions the other day."
3/ "They were showing us what Category 5 [the lowest condition] equipment they're getting off its knees with their own resources.
BMPs [armoured personnel carriers], BTS [armoured recovery tractors], and so on.
1/ Russia has "shot itself in the dick" with its block on Telegram, according to a scathing commentary. A Russian warblogger notes that pro-Kremlin propagandists have seen huge falls in views of their Telegram channels, but not dissident and pro-Ukraine channels. ⬇️
2/ Komsomolskaya Pravda journalist Dmitry Steshin calls it "a day of celebration for foreign agents, as the audience for pro-Russian channels on Telegram has plummeted."
3/ "Margarita Simonyan saw a 52.3% drop, while propagandist Alexander Sladkov saw a 49.4% drop. Views for ‘RT in Russian’ fell by 42%, whilst those for propagandists Vladimir Solovyov and Pavel Zarubin fell by 47.2% and 42.7% respectively.
1/ In a further sign of an economic slump in Russia, the giant vehicle manufacturer AvtoVAZ will shut down production entirely for 17 days due to falling demand and overcrowded warehouses. Its vehicles aren't selling and storage facilities are overflowing. ⬇️
2/ The Russian news outlet Mash reports that AvtoVAZ will shut down its assembly lines for almost the entire period from 27 April to 17 May, with the workforce sent on mandatory leave.
3/ Workers will be sent to do maintenance work between 27-30 April, 12-13 May will be covered by a postponement of vacation days from December, and staff will be paid at two-thirds their normal salary on 14-15 May.