1/ The Russian army is suffering unprecedented losses that will make a fresh mobilisation essential, according to a Russian warblogger. He warns that the average life expectancy of troops on an assault operation is now down to just 20-35 minutes. ⬇️
2/ In a long commentary, 'House among the Laurels' makes the case that a fresh Russian mobilisation is becoming an absolute necessity given the extreme scale of Russia's personnel losses:
3/ "I personally have no doubts about the predicted wave of mobilisation. I'm discussing this not because it's a "popular" topic, but because in some regions of our country, men have begun being summoned to military commissariats to receive mobilisation orders.
4/ "These orders are documents that specify where and when to report when mobilisation is declared. The fact that orders are being issued indicates that the appropriate instructions have arrived. And I can't help but say that this could very well be a "preparatory measure."
5/ "And what's my point? It's that times have changed.
If they used to say that "war is different now," now seasoned front-line soldiers will say that over the past year, war has become "different" at least two or three times. What does this mean?
6/ "It means that each time it gets harder, many times harder than what was "difficult" in the previous stage. And of course, drones. The only thing we're talking about is drones, and their exponential increase in their ever-increasing use.
7/ "Mass deployments during deep logistics disruptions. Mass deployments on people.
And speaking of that last point, I once came across an article on "statistics."
8/ "Basically, according to independent research by "N... ," today the average life expectancy of a soldier on the front lines (during an assault) is 20-35 minutes—that's during an offensive operation.
9/ "Any "life expectancy" beyond that and subsequent "lifespan" only indicates that the soldier has either found cover (a dugout, a pipe, etc.) or occupied the front line.
10/ "According to the same study, the "average life expectancy" of a soldier from his arrival at the training ground until his departure to the combat zone ranges from ten days to three weeks.
11/ "They also calculated the percentage of assault groups that reach the mission area and, directly, until they occupy the front line. Extremely depressing data.
12/ "Statistics on combat medical losses have also changed, as the percentage of seriously wounded soldiers subject to subsequent discharge has increased significantly, while the percentage of those returning to duty after recovery has decreased (I won't elaborate).
13/ "The same report also included calculations for the wounded-to-dead ratio. There's no point in rehashing the article's contents, but the overall conclusion is this: the nature of combat has changed, and irreversible losses are increasing month by month,…
14/ …while incoming reinforcements don't fully offset the loss of wounded and irreversible losses.
Forgive me for such a cold-blooded presentation, but I'm writing about this as correctly as possible...
15/ "And, generally speaking, speaking about all this, I even come to the conclusion that, given the nature of combat operations in 2022,…
16/ …those same three hundred thousand from the first wave of mobilised troops bore the brunt of the next two to three years; now, with the current gluttony of war, even more men are needed for the front.
17/ "Moreover, whereas previously, those same men moved with heavy steps along the front lines, now other similar front-line troops are essentially engaged in a "survival mode," because losses are now incurred long before they reach the front lines.
18/ "Generally speaking, the early segment of one unit advancing in 2022 is equivalent to two to three units now, and given the critical impact on it not only on the front lines but also in the rear zone, this figure could even increase by one more.
19/ "And of course, looking at what is happening on the current front line, I cannot help but say that right now the frontline troops, in the balance of forces, are fighting and suffering casualties not so much to push back the enemy lines, but in some places more to keep…
20/ …the faltering line from collapsing...
It is, of course, a frightening thing to say, but there seems to be no other way.
I may well be mistaken, but we currently see no alternative to pushing back the front lines other than through the exhaustion of that great bloodshed.
21/ "I’d like to say ‘not yet’, but I don’t want to delude myself that perhaps things might turn out differently.
22/ "I want to believe that it will, but for now we are heading towards difficult times, and mobilisation is not some kind of scare story for the uninitiated, but simply a necessary and inevitable measure to save the situation at the front, a measure to keep things going." /end
1/ A notorious Russian serial killer and multiple rapist known as the 'Sosnovsky Maniac' is reported to have died in a drone strike in Ukraine. The news has emerged after an apparently mistaken report that he had escaped from hospital. The army had decorated him for valour. ⬇️
2/ 41-year-old Andrei Kiyko murdered three young women, raped eight, and tried to murder twelve in St Petersburg's Sosnovska Park. He was convicted in 2008 and was sentenced to 22 years, extended to 25 years in 2023 after being convicted of the third murder.
3/ Only a year later, he was released after signing a military contract to fight in Ukraine. He was wounded several times and was awarded the Medal for Valor by the army.
1/ Russian front-line forces in southern Ukraine face a 'critical' situation with food due to Ukraine's middle-strike drone campaign, warns a prominent Russian warblogger. With starvation becoming a risk, he calls for urgent action against the drones. ⬇️
"The enemy’s intense attacks on our logistics have reached the shores of the Sea of Azov. Ukrainian forces are also carrying out drone strikes using ‘Hornet’ drones on the motorway near Berdyansk."
3/ "The direct distance to Orikhiv is approximately 95 km, so Ukrainian Armed Forces operators have no particular problems covering this distance, given the maximum radius of up to 145 km.
1/ Russia has reportedly effectively privatised its air defence systems, shifting their cost onto regions and private businesses. This is likely resulting in wealthy Moscow getting a disproportionate amount of air defences while poorer regions languish. ⬇️
2/ VChK-OGPU (now restored to Telegram following Pavel Durov's falling-out with the Kremlin) reports that according to a source, "the federal centre has effectively shifted funding for the creation of ever-new air defence lines for Russian cities to the regions…
3/ …(Moscow is no exception). The air defence systems themselves come from the Ministry of Defence (and sometimes their creation is financed by regional budgets), but the expensive preparatory and communications work falls to regional budgets.
1/ How could Russia counter Ukraine's ongoing and increasingly devastating drone campaign against its logistics? One Russian warblogger suggests a possible approach, but another says it won't happen due to the army's systemic deficiencies ⬇️
1/ Russian soldiers who are blind, deaf, have lost limbs, or are in wheelchairs, are having their medical discharges cancelled and are being sent back to Ukraine to fight. It appears to be Russia's latest measure to make up for its huge losses. ⬇️
2/ Seriously injured soldiers with category 'G' status (temporarily unfit for service) are being rounded up at home in Russia and declared fit again by military doctors, before being sent back to war. Relatives say that appeals to the authorities are having no effect.
3/ 38-year-old Pavel Podgrushny from Krasnodar was blown up by a mine in 2024, suffering head and chest injuries and losing his hearing and his left eye. He was treated in Volgograd, discharged to recuperate at home, and given a prosthetic eye.
1/ A leaked order from the Russian army instructs military drivers to disguise their vehicles as civilian ones, repainting them in non-military colours and applying the logos of civilian organisations to their sides. However, this appears to violate the Geneva Conventions. ⬇️
2/ The 'Combat Reserve' Telegram channel has published an extract from the order, which reads:
3/ "3. In view of the enemy’s use of AI-powered strike UAVs, and in order to prevent incidents and avoid the destruction of military equipment during enemy UAV operations, as well as to safeguard the lives and health of service personnel, the formation commander has ordered: