1/ As many as 5,000 Cubans may be fighting for Russia against Ukraine, according to investigative journalists. While some were likely tricked into joining the Russian army, many have signed up to escape grinding poverty in Cuba. ⬇️
2/ Russia has recruited people from many countries with historic links to the former Soviet Union, including in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. The Cuban contingent, with an estimated 5,000 men, may be the second largest after that of North Korea.

https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1897206960342306938

1/ Although hundreds of Russian soldiers are missing – presumed dead – in fighting for a small village near Vovchansk in Ukraine, their salaries are still being paid out to unknown parties. Their relatives suspect that their commanders are stealing en masse from the dead. ⬇️ 2/ The Russian army pays its soldiers electronically through the Mir payment system. Salaries are paid to an online account, from which money can be paid out through cashpoints or transferred via mobile banking.

1/ Out of 12,000 North Korean soldiers sent to Russia to fight against Ukraine, only two have been captured alive. They have recently been telling their stories to American and South Korean journalists, providing a unique perspective on the war. ⬇️ 2/ The two men are 21-year-old Baek (left) and 26-year-old Ri (right) (not their real names), both privates in the Korean People’s Army Special Operations Force. It numbers up to 80,000 men and is dedicated to carrying out military, political, and psychological operations.

1/ A Russian soldier serving with the 136th Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade says that his commanders have not paid salaries since July 2024, are refusing to allow the wounded to get a medical examination, are withholding injury compensation, and have marked him for execution. ⬇️ 2/ The unnamed soldier has recorded a video which has been published on the 'Soldiers' Truth' Telegram channel. He lists a series of abuses by the commander of his Dagestan-based unit and says he is suing the military prosecutor's office at Buynaksk in Dagestan.

1/ Russian warbloggers are sceptical about Trump's abandonment of Ukraine. Some look forward to "sweeping away Europe" and seeing Russian and American soldiers meeting again on the Elbe. Others worry that it's a ruse and warn about being smashed by the "steel dick of reality". ⬇️ 2/ 'Evil Orcs' praises Putin as "Comrade Warboss the DARKEST!"

"What kind of brains do you need to have to concoct all this into such a fucking multi-move, where in the end, one of your opponents will simply be publicly pissed on by your other opponents!? This is a masterpiece!"

1/ Russian escort agencies are advertising for 'models' to join an epic 14-day party with the elite of the United Arab Emirates to celebrate the end of Ramadan in late March. ⬇️ 2/ The VChK-OGPU Telegram channel reports that the end of Ramadan, which is expected on the evening of Sunday 30 March 2025, has prompted a drive by the Russian 'modeling industry' to find participants in the annual "party in Abu Dhabi" marking Eid al-Fitr.

1/ Russian prosecutors have sued hundreds of schools across the country for spending money on textbooks and classrooms rather than on replica weapons, dummy grenades and realistic wound simulators to prepare children to fight Russia's next war. ⬇️ 2/ The Russian government has introduced a new subject in the current academic year – "Fundamentals of Security and Defence of the Motherland" (OZBR). It is part of an increasingly intensive programme of militarisation of schools, intended to create a new generation of soldiers.

1/ Recent Russian setbacks in the Ukrainian city of Toretsk are being blamed by Russian warbloggers on a familiar problem – commanders lying about their successes and taking the city 'on credit' rather than in real life.

https://x.com/wartranslated/status/1895908281908154683

2/ The Russians, who have renamed Toretsk as Dzerzhinsk after the founder of the Soviet secret police, Felix Dzerzhinsky, appear to have prematurely declared victory in the city in order to curry favour with the military and political leadership.

1/ Russian warbloggers are very upset at the prospect of a ceasefire in Ukraine that leaves the objectives of the 'Special Military Operation' unfulfilled. One asks, "does the death of my boys mean nothing [but] a dog's dick and a hole after the assault?" ⬇️ 2/ The prominent Russian war correspondent and propagandist Alexander Sladkov has aroused controversy by arguing that Russia is not fighting for territory but "for Russia’s status in the new global world order that is currently being formed."

1/ A prominent Russian fixer is reportedly selling access to Donald Trump at the planned forthcoming Trump-Putin summit in Moscow for $2 million a head. It's likely to be aimed at Russian oligarchs seeking lucrative commercial opportunities from a US-Russia deal. ⬇️ 2/ The VChK-OGPU Telegram channel reports:

"Although the situation with Donald Trump's possible visit to Moscow is still very vague, tickets for a closed event with the US President have gone on sale. The cost is $2 million.

1/ Despite promises from the Russian government, wounded soldiers are routinely being denied medical examinations, psychiatric assistance, or prosthetic limbs, leading to sick, limbless and brain-damaged men being returned to the front lines. ⬇️
2/ The Russian warblogger Anastasia Kashevarova, who has written repeatedly about the mistreatment of Russia's wounded, has posted a comparison of official claims and the reality of what the men are facing.

1/ Vladimir Putin is demanding that Ukraine should hold a presidential election in wartime. Nazi Germany demanded the same of Britain in July 1942. This is the story of why the UK delayed holding elections throughout World War II. ⬇️ 2/ There were no General Elections in the UK between 1935 and July 1945, making the wartime Parliament the longest in modern British history. Whereas Ukraine's constitution prohibits holding elections under martial law, the UK Parliament had to vote annually to prolong itself.

1/ Without detracting at all from the stunning success of this Ukrainian operation, it's clear that Russian failings – specifically corruption and poor safety – were a major factor in making it possible.

https://twitter.com/Tendar/status/1894691525801521186

2/ As discussed in the thread below, vast amounts of ammunition were stored in the open air, without any protection whatsoever.

https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1836321025207722448

1/ A civil engineer who was mobilised into the Russian army despite ill-health has escaped to Germany and spoken about the chaos and brutality he saw. His regiment was told by its commander: "You came here to die." He was later arrested and tortured for trying to flee. ⬇️ 2/ 44-year-old Georgy from Lyubertsy near Moscow has told his story to Radio Free Europe. He was mobilised in September 2022 despite serious heart problems and was sent to a training ground where he "wandered aimlessly" and "fired a few times from rusty automatic rifles".

1/ The third anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a time for mourning, Russian nationalists say – not because of the destruction and huge loss of life, but because the war has failed to "heal and awaken Russia" from its "thirty-year bad dream" since the USSR fell. ⬇️ 2/ The Russian pro-war 'Soldier's Truth' Telegram channel writes that the war's anniversary allows a reappraisal of the 33-year-old phenomenon of the post-Soviet 'New Russia'. The author writes:

1/ An 'anti-crisis' video of a Russian officer condemning wounded soldiers for complaining has prompted criticism from Russian warbloggers for ignoring realities on the ground, such as extortion of compensation payments and an "epidemic" of suicides. ⬇️

https://x.com/PStyle0ne1/status/1891469625080103124

2/ The video was published by the Izvestia correspondent and military journalist Alexander Sladkov, who is generally regarded as an apologist for the Putin regime. It features an unidentified battalion commander (said to be from the 5th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade).

1/ Russian warbloggers are protesting about numerous videos of crippled Russian soldiers on crutches being sent into assaults, or being used as 'bullet sponges' to identify where the Ukrainians are firing from. ⬇️

https://x.com/wartranslated/status/1889322319052410987

2/ Anastasia Kashevarova, who has written about the issue before, says that she is seeing videos from all fronts showing badly injured soldiers on the battlefield. She writes:

"Why is this happening? There are two ways to go to war with a crutch or an Ilizarov apparatus:

1/ There's no need to resort to conspiracy theories about Trump being "compromised" to explain his support for Vladimir Putin. Nobody claims JD Vance supports Trump because he is "compromised". The truth is likely much simpler: Trump shares Putin's ideology. 2/ As the Washington Post article linked below points out, Putin promoted many aspects of MAGA ideology (anti-LGBT, anti-woke, anti-migrant, anti-abortion, anti-feminism, Christian nationalism) before they became mainstream in the Republican Party. washingtonpost.com/world/2025/02/…

1/ Russia is reported to have offered lucrative oil and gas concessions as a sweetener to get the Trump negotiating team to agree a favourable deal over Ukraine in Riyadh. ⬇️ 2/ The VChK-OGPU Telegram channel reports a source's comments on the negotiations:

"Kirill Dmitriev (Russian Direct Investment Fund) was clearly appointed to the negotiating delegation from Russia as a person who at least knows a little about business."

1/ Donald Trump's friendliness to Russia has earned praise from Russian propagandists and a wave of Trumpmania from online sellers, including MAGA hats and Trump toilet brushes. One commentator suggests he'll be declared the Messiah and will build the Third Temple in space. ⬇️ 2/ The notorious propagandist Vladimir Solovyov has broadcast a video of J.D. Vance's speech to the Munich Security Conference and has spoken approvingly of Vance's statement that negotiations between America and Russia are needed.

1/ The Russian army is using wounded soldiers as human bullet sponges, sending them out to identify Ukrainian positions by getting themselves shot. An appeal to Vladimir Putin by one man's wife illustrates how soldiers find themselves in this position. ⬇️
2/ The Russian 'Soldier's Truth' Telegram channel has published an 'appeal to the Tsar' from Sofia Sergeevna Merzlyak, the wife of 33-year-old soldier Alexander Alexandrovich Merzlyak, who is serving with the 1st Rifle Company of the 5th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade.