1/ Injured Russian stormtroopers say they have to lie in their own blood, pus and feces while under armed guard in hospitals that are more like prisons. They get expensive, inedible food which they have to pay for themselves, and are sent back to fight before they are healed. ⬇️ 2/ A Russian stormtrooper who has been seriously injured twice describes the grim conditions in the hospital where he has been sent. His account is consistent with accounts from other men of overcrowded, insanitary facilities for the war wounded.

https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1984587430737903668

1/ Russia's decision to block Roblox and other popular apps will backfire on the government, a Russian warblogger warns. He asks why the state is willing to "antagonise HUGE swathes of a warring nation" by taking away its "last bit of joy". ⬇️ 2/ 'SHAKESPEARE' writes:

"Our tight-knit "good state" blocked Roblox. I have no idea what that is. But it has over 18 million unique users in Russia .

Again: 18,000,000 of our people."

1/ So-called 'black commanders' are confiscating Russian soldiers' salary cards, then sending them to their deaths, failing to report them missing or killed, and stealing their salaries. This scam is reportedly widespread and has prompted many complaints from soldiers. ⬇️ 2/ The 'Brothers in Arms' Telegram channel describes how the scam works:

"'Black commanders' are those who do not report soldiers as missing when communication is lost or a soldier is killed."

1/ A Russian convict soldier has described the gruelling and deadly experience of serving in a 'Storm V' assault unit, from initial training, to facing swarms of Ukrainian drones, and being the only survivor of a bloody battle against dug-in and determined Ukrainian forces. ⬇️ 2/ Russian warblogger 'Maxim Kalashnikov' publishes the account of a Storm V soldier of his acquaintance:

"We weren't trained for long. At the Markovka training ground, the instructors, tired of repeating the same thing over and over again, don't care how you're trained."

1/ Russians who were mobilised in 2022-23 and have survived to the present day may not live much longer, as they are reportedly being formed into assault squads, where they will likely be sent to their deaths. This is forecast to lead to a bribery bonanza for commanders. ⬇️ 2/ The 'Vault 8' Telegram channel reports:

"Bad news is coming from two directions—the "North" group and Zaporizhzhia."

1/ Civilians under Russian occupation in the Luhansk region are starving and dying of cold because of a breakdown in essential services under the 'Luhansk People's Republic' (LPR), according to a complaint by a Russian warblogger. ⬇️ 2/ A significant number of Ukrainians – many of them elderly people, who grew up under the Soviet Union and often still hold pro-Russian views – still live in the frontline Svatove and Kreminna districts. However, they now have no electricity and conditions are reportedly dire.

1/ The new US National Security Strategy blames 'undemocratic' European governments for failing to make peace with Russia, takes a pro-Russian position on NATO, reflects white nationalist views on European demographics, and pledges overt support for far-right parties. ⬇️ 2/ While the strategy states that "it is a core interest of the United States to negotiate an expeditious cessation of hostilities in Ukraine", it says that "the Trump Administration finds itself at odds with European officials who hold unrealistic expectations for the war…

1/ A group of Russian soldiers say their commanders are "simply driving us to the slaughter" after extorting and brutally beating them: "There's no support, no air force, nothing. You just stomp along and die." They are all now listed as missing in action. ⬇️ 2/ The men are from the 328th Guards Airborne Assault Regiment (military unit 01011), which is currently fighting in the Zaporizhzhia region. Heavy fighting is ongoing south of Zaporizhzhia city, where the Russians are trying to open the route to the north.

1/ An apparent attack on a 'shadow fleet' tanker off the coast of Senegal means that Ukraine may now be able to attack Russian interests worldwide, says Russian war correspondent Alexander Kots. He calls it a new and threatening phase in the war. ⬇️

https://x.com/JayinKyiv/status/1995513609028554876

2/ Kots, who writes for Komsomolskaya Prava, has asked how Russia should respond to the severe damage suffered on 27 November by the oil tanker Mersin. Its Turkish owners report that the vessel was hit by four external explosions while it was in the eastern Atlantic Ocean.

1/ A video showing alcoholics, newly recruited into the Russian army, has attracted scorn, concern, and even some compassion from Russian warbloggers. They suggest that the men will be deliberately killed for being useless when they arrive at the front. ⬇️

https://x.com/wartranslated/status/1992235930300936365

2/ "We are Russians - we don't care' comments that this video is far from being a unique case (a fact that other warbloggers have confirmed). "If you think these are just the most hopeless ones, then I have some bad news for you – these are only the ones that got busted."

1/ Russian warbloggers conclude gloomily – and angrily – that the Russian Black Sea Fleet is so weakened and so far behind technologically that it cannot retaliate effectively against Ukraine's attack on two Russian 'shadow fleet' tankers. ⬇️

https://x.com/Tatarigami_UA/status/1994785482094383355

2/ On 28 November, the tankers Kairos and Virat were struck and seriously damaged by Ukrainian sea drones in the southern Black Sea. Both ships were disabled and had to be towed to Turkish ports. Ukraine subsequently declared a de facto blockade of Russian maritime cargo traffic.

1/ Relationships between neighbouring Russian units in the Pokrovsk area are reportedly so tense that commanders have had to publish instructions on how to behave – including refraining from stealing from each other. A lack of training and incompetent command is blamed. ⬇️ 2/ 'Callsign OSETIN' explains the context:

"Comrades in Pokrovsk, I'm addressing you. Information is coming in from various units that there's discord between some units; no one wants to cooperate, and no one likes their neighbours, blaming each other for everything."

1/ The Wall Street Journal reports that the main focus of the US-Russia peace talks is to get commercial advantage for American companies, and personal benefits for individuals linked to the Trump Administration. European officials are said to be shocked by the plans. ⬇️ 2/ According to the WSJ, talks between Trump's golfing friend Steve Witkoff, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev have bypassed the US national security and diplomatic apparatuses to focus on economic benefits for well-connected American companies.

1/ The Russian army has to rely on modified civilian vehicles purchased with soldiers' own money, because military trucks are in such short supply. According to a Russian soldier-warblogger, units have to wait between 5 to 12 months to receive trucks. ⬇️

https://x.com/CaolanReports/status/1988081980110406143

2/ Probably as a result of heavy losses due to Ukrainian attacks and a slowdown of production at Russian manufacturers, trucks are now scarce in the Russian army. Light vehicles and motorcycles are not supplied by the army, forcing soldiers to buy them themselves.

1/ Whatever the legality of the strikes as a whole, this incident is very clearly a war crime (if you accept that these are combatants).

https://twitter.com/AlexHortonTX/status/1994458955666329641

2/ Specifically under the 1949 Geneva Convention:

"Rule 47. Attacking persons who are recognized as hors de combat is prohibited. A person hors de combat is:...

(b) anyone who is defenceless because of unconsciousness, shipwreck, wounds or sickness...

1/ Wounded soldiers in Russia's 51st Army say they have been banned from going back to Russia for medical treatment. Instead, they're sent straight back, unhealed, to the fighting. "Tie a crutch to his leg and let him go to the front line," one commander has reportedly said. ⬇️ 2/ The 51st Guards Combined Arms Army, currently fighting at Pokrovsk, is a Russian formation that was originally created in the 'Donetsk People's Republic' as its 1st Army Corps. It has attracted a reputation for brutality and the careless expenditure of the lives of its men.

1/ Hardline Russian nationalists and war supporters have reacted with hostility to the Dmitriev-Witkoff peace proposals. Igor 'Strelkov' Girkin's detailed critique is of particular interest, as it is likely representative of this powerful faction's views. ⬇️ 2/ Girkin's comments provide an insight into the fine line that Putin is having to walk between reaching a settlement that he can accept and one that the hardliners will accept. Putin likely agrees with many of their objections, but knows that they are unachievable.

1/ Igor 'Strelkov' Girkin is sceptical of "the mega-crook Donald and his cronies" and is confident there won't be a peace deal soon. In a fresh missive from prison, he draws attention to the Zaporizhzhia front, but says that Russia is unable to exploit successes there. ⬇️ 2/ Replying to an earlier letter from a friend, he comments:

"Now we have yet another “sweet expectation of a quick and inevitable deal” (that is, a “compromise”), inspired by the statements of the mega-crook Donald and his cronies."

1/ Russian State Duma deputy and surgeon Badma Bashankaev boasts that wounded Russian soldiers enjoy a 96% survival rate. Russian warbloggers point out, however, that only the lightly wounded usually get treated; most seriously injured Russians die on the battlefield. ⬇️ 2/ Badma Bashankaev is a fervent supporter of Russia's war effort and represents Putin's United Russia party in the State Duma. He has recently appeared in an interview with state news agency TASS speaking about Russia's ostensible success in treating wounded soldiers.

1/ While Russia is making incremental advances in the Zaporizhzhia region, Russian soldiers say that it's resulting in carnage among their units. Conditions at Stepnohirsk are said to be dire, with entire battalions virtually wiped out. ⬇️

https://x.com/wartranslated/status/1993695775058989173

2/ Russian soldiers fighting at Stepnohirsk on the road to Zaporizhzhia city have told the 'Brothers in Arms' Telegram channel that "the situation there is, to put it mildly, dire."

1/ Igor 'Strelkov' Girkin warns from his jail cell that Ukraine and the EU have no reason to accept the Dmitriev-Witkoff proposals to end the war, because Russia is currently incapable of inflicting a strategic defeat on Ukraine, despite local tactical victories. ⬇️ 2/ The imprisoned Girkin has posted a lengthy analysis of the context of the 28-point plan (he says that he has not yet read the full content of the points, "which our media modestly remained silent about").