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ChrisO_wiki Profile picture
ChrisO_wiki
@ChrisO_wiki
Independent military history author and researcher. Coffee tips are appreciated! https://t.co/t1EjNrIZ2c Now also at https://t.co/4qGQ2ffHJJ
Apr 15 • 29 tweets • 5 min read
1/ In this third part of his exposé of how organised crime has taken over the Russian army in Ukraine, Russian journalist Sergey Komkov highlights how Russian commanders are now "jumping to the tune of robbers and murderers." ⬇️ Image 2/ Part 1 of his account is here:
Apr 15 • 10 tweets • 3 min read
1/ Wealthy Russians are reportedly being offered the chance to have an hour-long meeting with Elon Musk's father Errol for the generous price of 1.9 million rubles ($25,000). Interested parties are advised to book slots quickly, as he flies out of Moscow tomorrow. ⬇️ Image 2/ Russian warblogger Alex Kartavykh has published an apparent Telegram conversation offering access to Errol Musk, who is said to be organising resettlement opportunities for Afrikaner farmers from South Africa.
Apr 15 • 11 tweets • 3 min read
1/ Russian tank crews are being sent to their deaths en masse in infantry assaults, according to a Russian soldier's plea for help. With tank use now severely limited due to drone strikes, their crews appear to be surplus to requirements. ⬇️
2/ A Russian soldier writes to the warblogger 'Voenkor Kotenok':

"Hello. I can't help but tell you what's really going on in the tank battalion of the 110th Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces (formerly the 100th Brigade of the DPR People's Militia).
Apr 15 • 27 tweets • 5 min read
1/ An "Organised Thieves' Den" that has taken over Russia's army in Ukraine is systematically exploiting the war for profit, caring nothing for Russia's ultimate success or failure, says Russian journalist Sergey Komkov. ⬇️ Image 2/ Here's part 1 of Komkov's exposé of how convicts recruited by the army have, in his assessment, effectively taken it over and are exploiting it for personal gain.
Apr 14 • 25 tweets • 5 min read
1/ The Russian army has been taken over by an organised crime syndicate, says a Russian journalist. The mass recruitment of criminals now means that crimes and corruption of all sorts – murder, torture, extortion, prostitution, drug and alcohol smuggling – are now routine. ⬇️ Image 2/ Sergey Komkov writes that organised crime has become "the most widespread social virus in the Special Military Operation zone, capable of burying virtually the entire combat capability of our Russian army."
Apr 14 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
1/ Ukraine is launching a new, agile system for rapid military deployment of new technology; Russia, not so much so. Pro-Kremlin warblogger Vladimir Romanov sarcastically highlights the differences between the Russian and Ukrainian systems. ⬇️ Image 2/ Romanov notes how Ukraine is "systematically streamlining the path of technological developments to the front lines":

"The [Ukrainian] government, at the recommendation of the Ministry of Defence, is launching a new model for purchasing innovative weapons for the army."
Apr 14 • 35 tweets • 6 min read
1/ Russia's Black Sea Fleet is trapped and largely neutralised, according to gloomy commentaries from Russian warbloggers. Ukraine's recent attack on its ships anchored at Novorossiysk show that its situation is a "catastrophic failure". ⬇️
2/ Ukraine's drone attack on a Russian frigate at anchor at Novorossiysk on April 6th has been the subject of commentary from several Russian warbloggers, who have noted that the drones used were clearly under manual control for their terminal guidance. 'Rybar' writes:
Apr 13 • 10 tweets • 2 min read
1/ Russia's regional governments and state-owned institutions are planning to spend billions of rubles to circumvent the Internet restrictions imposed by Russia's federal government, a situation which Russian commentators have criticised as ridiculous and wasteful. ⬇️ Image 2/ The SHOT Telegram channel reports that numerous Russian cities and regions are advertising contracts for the provision of VPN services. Thousands of similar tenders have also been posted by state institutions and state-owned companies, according to LIFE.
Apr 13 • 11 tweets • 2 min read
1/ Russia recently sent a 'shadow fleet' tanker through the English Channel, escorted by a Russian Navy warship. However, as the 'Fighterbomber' Telegram channel points out, this is more for performative than practical reasons. ⬇️
2/ 'Fighterbomber' writes (using 'Laos' as a synchedoche for Russia, a common-used tactic by warbloggers to avoid the wrath of the censors):
Apr 13 • 35 tweets • 6 min read
1/ Russian bloggers and commentators are continuing to reflect, often angrily, on the defeat yesterday of Hungary's Viktor Orbán. They blame the Hungarian people for being too ignorant, accuse their own elites of failing, and fear for Russia's future. ⬇️ 2/ (See the linked thread below for earlier reactions)
Apr 13 • 37 tweets • 7 min read
1/ The fall of Victor Orbán is being mourned as a catastrophe by Russian warbloggers and commentators. They lament the loss of a man whom they openly call "a 'Trojan horse' in the EU" and blame the Russian government's ineffective attempts to interfere with the election. ⬇️ 2/ Alex Kartavykh laments:

"The Reich has almost crystallised. There will be no one left to gum up the Euro-bureaucrats with blabber and prevent them from sending out budget aid. And, in general, the last bastion of common sense has fallen."
Apr 12 • 15 tweets • 3 min read
1/ Simply using a 💩 emoji on the state-mandated Russian messenger app MAX is enough to result in a user being convicted and fined, or potentially even imprisoned. A recent court case highlights how the app is blatantly being used as an instrument of repression. ⬇️ Image 2/ The District Court of Rostov-on-Don has imposed a fine of 30,000 rubles ($387) on a man named Sergey Nikolaevich Korovayny. As the court's decision states:
Apr 12 • 13 tweets • 3 min read
1/ A Russian politician's advice to fellow citizens to carry paper maps because they can no longer rely on online navigation due to Internet blocking has gone down badly in Russia. A Moscow science institute has advised Russians to navigate by the sun and stars instead. ⬇️ 2/ State Duma Deputy Yaroslav Nilov, head of the Committee on Labor and Social Policy, arrived late at a conference because the online map on his phone wasn't working, due to Russia's increasingly stringent blocking of mobile Internet access.
Apr 11 • 23 tweets • 5 min read
1/ Russia's ongoing budget crisis, caused by the war in Ukraine, has caused government funding of science to fall to its lowest level since the chaotic mid-1990s. Meanwhile, ordinary Russians are increasingly investing in magic amulets and aspen stakes to drive away vampires. ⬇️ Image
Image 2/ The National Research University's Higher School of Economics (HSE) has published its annual 'Science Indicators' yearbook. It shows that domestic expenditure on research and development in Russia has fallen to 0.97% of GDP, its lowest level since 1996.
Apr 11 • 19 tweets • 4 min read
1/ A very interesting interview with Donbas separatist Pavel Gubarev is being interpreted by Russian warbloggers as a move by 'angry patriots' to lay the ground for a coup in Russia. They see a potential replay of the 1918 overthrow of Tsar Nicholas II. ⬇️
2/ The interview is notable not only for its revealing admissions about Russia's seizure of the Donbas in 2014, which Russian nationalists refer to as 'the Russian Spring', but for its choice of venue.
Apr 10 • 13 tweets • 3 min read
1/ Russia is proclaiming success in its ongoing recruitment drive, but this is being achieved by scraping the bottom of the barrel. A newly-published video shows the abysmal quality of the current recruits: old, disabled, and homeless men, with only two fingers between them. ⬇️ 2/ The video shows three newly recruited men in Omsk. Despite having severe physical disabilities, all three are recognised as medically fit for military service at a selection point called Sirius. They have signed a contract and will be sent to Ukraine.
Apr 9 • 11 tweets • 3 min read
1/ The Iranian Republican Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy has published a map showing the 'new' shipping lanes for vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz. However, what it shows greatly increases the risk of future shipping disasters in the Persian Gulf. ⬇️ Image 2/ The Strait of Hormuz is only 33–39 km (20-24 mi) wide at its narrowest point, but its usable width is far narrower. The shipping lanes in the middle of the Strait pass through a 9 km-wide (5 mi) stretch of the deepest water, comprising two 3 km wide lanes with a 3 km gap. Image
Apr 9 • 37 tweets • 6 min read
1/ This continues Russian drone developer Alexey Chadayev's analysis of the state of Russia's drone warfare; see the links below for parts 1 and 2. In this part, he assesses the crucial role of communications systems in drone control. ⬇️ Image 2/ Part 1:
Apr 9 • 22 tweets • 4 min read
1/ This continues Russian drone developer Alexey Chadayev's analysis of the state of Russia's drone warfare; see the link below for part 1. In this part, he assesses problems with unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) which have become acute since Russia lost access to Starlink. ⬇️ Image 2/ Part 1:
Apr 9 • 17 tweets • 3 min read
1/ Russian drone developer Alexey Chadayev has posted a lengthy and detailed description of what is going wrong for Russia in the drone warfare arms race, where he admits that it has fallen badly behind Ukraine, with lethal consequences for the Russian army. ⬇️ Image 2/ Chadayev is the head of the Ushkuynik Research and Production Centre, a leading Russian drone development organisation. He is a key organiser in the 'People's Military-Industrial Complex', a loose coalition of voluntary groups which provides the army with equipment.
Apr 8 • 15 tweets • 3 min read
1/ Igor 'Strelkov' Girkin reflects the views of many Russian commentators today in declaring Donald Trump's apparent climbdown over Iran to be a huge fiasco. He argues that "US authority will now be greatly undermined, and Trump's authority even more so." ⬇️ Image 2/ News of the ceasefire in the Gulf has made its way very quickly to the special prison for jailed former security officials where Girkin has been held since January 2024. He also hasn't wasted any time in responding on his Telegram channel: