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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
Jul 27 • 11 tweets • 2 min read
1/ Gas prices were lowered, restrictions were lifted, and queues vanished temporarily for a visit to Irkutsk by Vladimir Putin. Russians are calling it a modern-day Potemkin village, but it appears to show how hard Putin's underlings try to hide Russia's problems from him. ⬇️ 2/ The original Potemkin villages were said to be fakeside river towns built by Grigory Potemkin to fool Empress Catherine the Great in 1787 (though it appears to be a myth). However, it was an attempt to fake success, rather than hiding failure from a leader inhabiting a bubble.
Jul 27 • 18 tweets • 3 min read
1/ Russia isn't winning in Ukraine and it's all the fault of Russian society, says an angry Russian warblogger. Seeking an explanation for why (in the eyes of warbloggers) Russia has not yet started "fighting for real", he blames ordinary Russians for apathy and cowardice. ⬇️ Image 2/ Russian society has been massively atomised under the rule of Vladimir Putin, with the near-destruction of most civil society organisations (apart from a limited number approved of or tolerated by the state). Passive subservience is welcomed; collective action is discouraged.
Jul 27 • 21 tweets • 4 min read
1/ Wildberries sellers are generally blaming the Russian government, rather than Ukraine, for their losses. It's an interesting and striking dynamic, which Russian warbloggers say the Russian government itself has created through its suppression of bad news. ⬇️ Image 2/ Over the last couple of weeks, Russian social media has been flooded with videos of distraught Wildberries sellers weeping over their huge losses as a result of Ukrainian drone strikes against warehouses across Russia.
Jul 27 • 15 tweets • 3 min read
1/ A rare Russian armoured assault on 22 June ended in disaster, with the loss of numerous vehicles and the reported deaths of scores of Russians. Russian warbloggers are scathing about the losses, seeing the attack as incompetent. ⬇️
2/ FT military correspondent Andrey Filatov is highly critical, using a standard euphemism for the Russian army to evade censorship:
Jul 26 • 11 tweets • 2 min read
1/ Vladimir Putin has strongly hinted that Russia should claim the entire eastern half of Ukraine, going far beyond the existing annexation of the Donbas and southern Ukraine. He foresees a future in which western Ukraine is also annexed by its neighbours. ⬇️ 2/ In a meeting with sailors in St Petersburg to mark Navy Day today, Putin extensively discussed Russia's historical rights over Ukraine, highlighting in the process his obsession with Russian and Ukrainian history and his dubious reading of it.
Jul 26 • 32 tweets • 6 min read
1/ Vladimir Putin is today celebrating the 330th anniversary of the Russian Navy. However, it's a muted, shrunken event held under the shadow of Ukrainian drone strikes and with the Black Sea Fleet blockaded in Novorossiysk. Russian commentators fear for the Navy's future. ⬇️ 2/ Putin has today been at the Main Admiralty of the Russian Navy in St. Petersburg for Navy Day to mark the Navy's 330th anniversary since its foundation under Peter the Great. He spoke of the Navy and Marines' "important role in the Special Military Operation."
Jul 26 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
1/ A Russian commander has reportedly come up with a novel form of 'flag-sticking', the practice of planting flags in Ukrainian-held territory to falsely report advances. He was reportedly caught using AI to fake flag-sticking events to conceal his territorial losses. ⬇️ Image 2/ 'Donetsk Infantry' has posted an insight into the problems that the Russian command is continuing to have. with false reports from the ground. These have led to the war being fought on the basis of grossly inaccurate control of terrain maps.
Jul 26 • 16 tweets • 3 min read
1/ Russian soldiers say they are facing a "catastrophic shortage" of fuel at the front lines due to Ukrainian drone strikes on refineries. Far less is available now, it's more expensive, and it's only being issued for vehicles owned by the army – excluding vast numbers in use. ⬇️ Image 2/ Soldiers interviewed by the independent Russian news site Verska says that a "catastrophic shortage" has made the situation "a complete mess". Just like civilians, the military is now being rationed to only 20 litres of gasoline per vehicle per day.
Jul 25 • 14 tweets • 3 min read
1/ The energy situation in Crimea is steadily worsening as Ukrainian drones systematically destroy power facilities across the peninsula. Russian warblogger 'Two Majors' says that Russia's air defences are being crippled by a lack of coordination. ⬇️
2/ Recent attacks by Ukraine's Unmanned Systems Forces have hit dozens of electricity substations and other energy facilities across Crimea in recent weeks, as well as logistics hubs and road transportation. 'Two Majors' says the situation is still deteriorating:
Jul 25 • 20 tweets • 3 min read
1/ Ukraine's systematic destruction of Wildberries warehouses across Russia should be understood as an act of psychological warfare intended to remind Russians of the ruinous 1990s, argues RIA Novosti correspondent Sergei Shilov in a lengthy commentary. ⬇️
2/ Writing on the 'Witnesses of Bayraktar' Telegram channel that Shilov co-manages with RT correspondent Alexander Karchenko, Shilov says that Ukraine aims "to "flood" Russia with chaos" by striking at "a more vulnerable target: the public psyche."
Jul 25 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
1/ Does the Russian soldier in your life need something to entertain him? A Russian entrepreneur has come up with the perfect answer: a board game called Silapoly which features 'Uncle Vova', the Oreshnik missile, the FSB, and anything else needed to control Russia. ⬇️ 2/ Silapoly is an adaptation of the classic board game Monopoly that relocates the action and game mechanics for a (satirical?) depiction of modern Russia. The player must "build an empire, manage money, and fight for power."
Jul 25 • 9 tweets • 2 min read
1/ It's time for another purge of the Russian army, along the lines of Stalin's Great Purge of 1937, says Russian warblogger 'Two Majors'. He castigates the army's culture of shifting responsibility and performative work for its systematic failures in Ukraine. ⬇️ Image 2/ The Russian army's bureaucratic culture has created a "system of reports, legal squabbles, and endless shifting of responsibility in military affairs". However, he says, it "has outlived its usefulness and is directly damaging the military sphere of the Russian Federation."
Jul 22 • 14 tweets • 3 min read
1/ Following political pressure, Wildberries' CEO Tatyana Kim – Russia's richest woman – says that the company will compensate its sellers for their losses despite a recent change of its terms and conditions that absolved it of liability. ⬇️
2/ Colossal quantities of goods – likely hundreds of millions of items – have been destroyed in Ukraine's recent drone strikes on several Wildberries warehouses. Forbes Russia estimates the total damage so far to be as much as 283–303 billion rubles ($3.60–3.86 billion).
Jul 22 • 22 tweets • 4 min read
1/ The sight of more burning warehouses has prompted angry denunciations from Russian warbloggers of the "bureaucratic pimples" who are allegedly sabotaging air defences. Anti-drone mobile fire teams, in particular, are said to be in disarray. ⬇️
2/ The Russian warblogger 'SHAKESPEARE' writes:

"Today, the enemy attacked the Wildberries warehouses again. Successfully—for the enemy, that is. It appears we’ve lost two major logistics terminals at once: in Krasnodar and Nevinnomyssk."
Jul 22 • 36 tweets • 6 min read
1/ Ukraine's increasingly devastating attacks on Wildberries warehouses in Russia are intended to dismantle Russia's e-commerce economy, disrupt logistics, and drive up prices even further, say Russian bloggers. They are calling for urgent action. ⬇️
2/ Roman Alekhin sees the writing on the wall for Wildberries:

"1. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have already inflicted extreme damage and will most likely continue to do so.
Jul 22 • 19 tweets • 3 min read
1/ As more Wildberries warehouses burn following Ukrainian drone attacks, here's a handy guide to the top 10 e-commerce warehouses in Russia – which should also help to serve as an indicator of where Ukrainian drones are likely to fly next. Image 2/ The Russian Telegram channel 'ZaTelekom' writes:

"The largest distribution and fulfillment centers of Russian companies (taking into account the queues introduced) form the following top ten (I marked with emoticons where already [attacked]):
Jul 21 • 24 tweets • 4 min read
1/ The 'SVOshnik' – a drunk, traumatised, violent veteran of the Ukraine war – has become a figure of fear in Russia. Russian journalist and activist Anastasia Kashevarova, who has fought for soldiers' rights, admits that some veterans are out of control. ⬇️ Image 2/ Many participants in the Ukraine war have been discharged, usually through ill-health or in some lucky cases, having completed contracts. They have brought with them a wave of violence and crime, with even prostitutes avoiding them.
Jul 21 • 27 tweets • 5 min read
1/ Claims by a senior Russian military official that the Russian army's tactical medicine system is efficient and rapid are greeted with incredulity by Russian commentators. They point out that wounded soldiers are often not evacuated for days or weeks. ⬇️
2/ Deputy Minister of Defence Anna Tsivileva – a relative of Putin's who was controversially appointed a lieutenant general despite no previous military experience – has given an upbeat assessment of the performance of Russian tactical medicine.
Jul 20 • 33 tweets • 7 min read
1/ The Russian-appointed governor of the occupied part of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia region has told Vladimir Putin in person that the R-280 highway to Crimea is under total Russian control. Russian warbloggers dispute this and suggest that he's lying. ⬇️
2/ In a meeting at the Kremlin, Yevgeny Balitsky said:

"The R-280 road, which supplies Crimea, is currently under complete control, the effectiveness of Ukrainian drones has significantly decreased. The means used are constantly being improved." Image
Jul 20 • 17 tweets • 4 min read
1/ The arrest in Miami of Andrew and Tristan Tate is being celebrated in Russia, where a few weeks ago they were guests of honour at the St Petersburg International Economic Forum. Now they're seen as too scummy for Russia; one Russian blogger calls them "genetic garbage". ⬇️ Image 2/ The fact that the Tates were invited to Russia in the first place attracted criticism at the time, given their reputation. Russian nationalist bloggers saw it as a degrading display of subservience to the 'decadent' West. They now see themselves as vindicated by the arrests:
Jul 20 • 17 tweets • 4 min read
1/ The destruction by Ukrainian drones of two of Wildberries' massive warehouses near Moscow is a huge disaster for the Russian economy, which will inflict far more damage than the headline $1.2 billion loss of stock. Here's why. ⬇️ 2/ While Wildberries itself can absorb the loss of two of its biggest warehouses – it will not need to compensate sellers as it has very recently disclaimed responsibility for losses caused by enemy action – the impact of the strikes on the wider economy will be significant.