Posted on 10/06/2022 9:02:04 AM PDT by marcusmaximus
ideos have emerged on social media that appeared to show infighting among Russia's elite, with mobilized Russians allegedly complaining about accommodation conditions before being sent to fight in Ukraine.
On Wednesday, the pro-Russian Telegram channel Rybar published a video that appeared to show Russian soldiers standing in front of a passenger train. The clip has been geolocated to Russia's Belgorod region near the Ukraine border.
"We are now in the Belgorod region. There are about 500 of us. Material support, monetary allowance...Absolutely nothing!" the cameraman states, panning the video to his fellow soldiers. The majority have their face covered with masks.
The man filming the video says that the men, conscripted as part of Russian President Vladimir Putin's September 21 partial mobilization decree, don't know where they are being deployed.
"There is absolutely zero preparation," he says, while another man in the video adds: "We eat what we buy for ourselves."
Analyzing the clip, journalists have suggested that the video could be staged by Yevgeny Prigozhin, founder of the Russian mercenary outfit, the Wagner Group, over his dissatisfaction with how the Ukraine war is being handled.
Journalist Mark Krutov of Radio Liberty noted that some men appear to be wearing badges that bear the Wagner Group symbol.
Before Krutov geolocated the clip, he tweeted: "wherever it's filmed it starts to smell like a staged story now a little bit for me."
"The video was posted on and being reposted by pro-Wagner channels, which matches Prigozhin's 'Fire Shojgu' narrative...Also some Wagner patches are visible on it. Nearly all 'poor mobiks' (mobilized men) on the video wear balaclavas," Krutov wrote.
"(I think patches are just a kind of Prigozhin's 'Easter egg' here). The guy also makes a weird claim they've all (he says 500 people) got COVID on that train," he added.
(Excerpt) Read more at newsweek.com ...
Update on Russian operations in Ukraine for October 5, 2022
- Latest US aid package falls far short of replacing steep Ukrainian losses amid continued offensives;
- Ukraine’s offensive has limited capabilities, will not achieve “victory” over Russian forces in territory deemed “Ukrainian” by Kiev;
- Ukrainian offensive is an “all-or-nothing” proposition, hoping to achieve psychological and political gains toward ending the conflict in ways Ukrainian military force cannot;
- Western analysts celebrate the psychological impact the offensive is having on pro-Russian media, pundits, and even prominent members of Russian society;
- In reality, Ukraine will be left overextended and vulnerable just as Russia’s 300,000-strong mobilization begins shaping the battlefield.
In Ukrainian channels, information about the state of the Armed Forces of Ukraine appeared. They refer to the data of the General Staff.
Here is what the military-political leadership of Ukraine hides:
- the staffing of the Armed Forces of Ukraine remains at the level of 43-48%;
- losses among military personnel - more than 191 thousand killed and wounded;
- statistics on missing persons are not maintained; - medicine is working at its limit, the seriously wounded are taken through Poland for treatment in European countries (Germany, France, Italy);
- an acute shortage of small arms and body armor;
- the resource of some samples of equipment transferred by the allies is ending (the first batches of American M777, M109, new Panzerhaubitse 2000 and MARS II);
- the lack of qualified specialists in the operation of Western weapons, so the equipment is operated by people without a deep understanding of the materiel;
- a problem with consumables, especially hydraulics and liquid nitrogen, necessary for M777 howitzers;
- in the field, an automated fire control system does not last long, fragments and dust are killed quickly enough; there are no opportunities for repairs on the spot, we have to send them to Poland, where there are spare parts and specialists.
In addition, the MPS of Ukrainian military personnel remains at a low level, despite the recent information campaign to distribute “encouraging” materials on social networks and organized concerts.
Such a deplorable state of the Armed Forces of Ukraine can only testify to one thing - they do not have long to exist.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.