Elite Russian Marine Unit 'Nearly Destroyed' Near Ukraine’s Vuhledar

The Moscow Times ^ | Feb. 14, 2023

[Salohcin]

An elite Russian naval infantry unit made up of mostly mobilized troops has lost nearly all its troops in fighting near the eastern Ukrainian town of Vuhledar, Russian media reported Monday, citing one of the survivors.

The 5,000-strong 155th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade has been “nearly destroyed” after up to 300 marines per day were killed in Russia's assault on the coal-mining town, according to comments by the Ukrainian defense forces to Politico on Sunday.

A surviving marine who spoke with the 7x7 regional news site said the losses were so severe that only eight men remained in one landing assault company, while the other survivors were taken prisoner.

“Those who survived were said to be deserters,” the unnamed marine was quoted as saying, estimating the brigade’s losses at 500 or more men killed.

Citing his commander, the marine told 7x7 that the brigade — nearly 90% of whom were recently mobilized soldiers — did not expect to return to Russia alive or unscathed.

“I wish I had been taken prisoner and never returned,” he added, complaining about the officers’ treatment of their soldiers.

The assault began on Jan. 23, the surviving marine told 7x7.

Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed that its forces had “neutralized” Ukrainian soldiers and military hardware near Vuhledar last week.

That claim drew ridicule from Russian pro-war military bloggers for repeating the mistakes of past failed offensives and dented their belief in the military’s capacity to mount a widely reported large-scale offensive.

The Russian Pacific Fleet’s 155th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade made headlines in November after accusing its commander of causing massive losses in an assault near the eastern city of Donetsk.

Russia’s Defense Ministry issued a rare statement at the time denying the unit’s claims. The surviving marine told 7x7 on Monday that the brigade commander gave them a “strict reprimand” for airing its accusations in public.

The 155th brigade had to undergo three waves of restaffing after suffering defeats in Ukraine, Oleksiy Dmytrashkivskiy, the spokesman for the regional chapter of Ukraine’s defense forces, told Politico.

The marine who described the assault on Vuhledar to 7x7 said his command was “bringing in new” soldiers, many of whom are killed on the battlefield.

[odawg]

“Why is it so hard for you and the other Russian fans on FR to admit that the Russians have encountered reversals in their war?”

I suppose that you define a “Russian fan” as someone who is repulsed by the corruption of Zelensky and the Ukrainian government.

Obviously, the Russians have encountered reverasls in their war or otherwise it would already be over. Ditto the Ukrainians.

No, it is the Biden administration who provoked this war and the Biden administration could have stopped this war. It is all on Biden. It is the Ukrainian people who have suffered the castastrophic death and destruction and Biden and Zelensky are trying to parcel out the castastrophe to the whole world.

[McGruff]

Amen.

[redfreedom]

Propaganda is so thick from both sides it’s really difficult to determine just where the truth lies.

Russians are not a stupid people. It’s common sense that if large units are destroyed over and over that plans and tactics would be changed to save more soldiers and achieve more wins.

Is the Russian army really that bad or is this story propaganda? The biggest tell is not in actual battle field statistics, it’s in the reputation of Western media where they have been spewing lies about global warming, covid and other political narratives for decades. The point is, why should they suddenly start telling the truth with regards to Ukraine? Now this is supposedly a Russian news source, but a good propagandist can find ways to create that appearance.

[redfreedom]

I have to add to my earlier post, quoted from the article:

“An elite Russian naval infantry unit made up of mostly mobilized troops - - “

I answered my own question, the story is propaganda. The quote above is self contradictory. There is no such thing as an elite unit made up of mostly mobilized troops. Recently mobilized troops have minimal training and no combat experience. A unit made up of mostly green troops is far from elite.

[Vision]

I doubt people are fans of Russia. Is it hard for you to believe you may not know what you’re talking about?

Russia fight wars by throwing bodies at it and they won’t be running out of them. I suspect moronic, adult children Democrats either didn’t know this or expected the Russian people to riot like Americans and stop the war. It’s doubtful that will be happening.

[Interesting Times]

I notice that the devastating defeats the Russians keep suffering are occurring further and further into Ukraine.

[ConservativeDude]

right....and, the ability of Europe to access Russian petro/nat gas may well have taken a permanent step back

I don’t see how any of that is good

[KobraKai]

It’s not just the media they agree with either, it’s a full throated endorsement of the Biden regime.

[libertylover]

I find it amazing how we are a group, in general, didn’t believe the media ...

I didn't believe the media then and I don't believe them now. It's why I really know very little about the war between Russia and Ukraine is because I don't believe any of them.

However, I do have a few thoughts through "osmosis": There are no good guys at the top of this war on either side. Zelinski is up to his eyeballs in Biden corruption, but I don't see that Putin was justified in invading Ukraine. I really feel for the soldiers on both sides. Probably they just want to go home and forget about all of this nonsense.

It seems to me that neither side has very effective air power and therefore the war has become an almost WWI type war with artillery duels.

I don't trust the media. See Tagline.

[JoJo354]

AMEN!!

[wastedyears]

I think a deep throated endorsement is more like it.

[delta7]

Meanwhile, Ukraine has been deindustrialized, deenergized, and depopulated…with a conservative estimate there are only 15-18 million Ukies left in Ukraine, a far cry from the 39 million pre-war….and now they are registering 16 year olds for the draft.

Definitely not “winning”, and do realize Vlad is not giving up his ethnic Russian provinces that are now a part of the Russian Federation…get used to it.

….another reality, this war ends on Vlad’s terms.

[Alas Babylon!]

Agree completely.

1. Biden is guilty of corruption in Ukraine.
2. Russia is guilty of trying to install a puppet government in Ukraine by force (meaning killing people).
Both sides are guilty as hell.

The soldiers are victims. The mothers of dead soldiers are victims. The bombed cities, downs, apartment buildings, houses, and any structure housing civilians; those civilians are victims. This applies to Kiev, Lvov, and yes, even Donetsk circa 2014-2022.

[Rockingham]

The Russian military has a wide range of fundamental defects in weapons, equipment, logistics, organization, training, and doctrine. These make it incapable of combat using modern combined arms tactics that emphasize flexibility, speed, and sophisticated weapons.

As a result, the Russian military instead relies on its traditional advantages in manpower and tube artillery, expecting cannon fire and brutal mass infantry assaults to make up for its many weaknesses. Against modern weapons used by a NATO style army though, that is a recipe for appalling casualties and eventual defeat.

[adorno]

By the media’s acct ukraine hasn’t lost any soldiers at all. At least I haven’t seen any reports of such.

I don't recall the exact reports, but there have been many where the casualties for Ukraine have been reported in the hundreds of thousands, including over 100,000 killed. The Russians have been reported to have suffered hundreds of thousands injured or killed, with perhaps over 200,000 killed.

So, the reports are out there; it's just a matter of finding them or reading them when they come out.

[redgolum]

That makes some sense.

An elite unit with some losses that has a bunch of new guys in to fill it out. The Soviets and Germans did that in WW2.

The unites will still considered “elite”, if only on paper.

There are other ways of organizing that the NATO way.

[adorno]

However I would also prefer that we as Americans would not be involved either way especially in a financial sense.

Too late.

In fact, over 100 years too late.

We became the leaders of the free world a long time ago, and unfortunately, we are the defenders of that world. Countries have become dependent on the U.S. when needed. Europe and large parts of Asia and S. America, and even Africa and the middle-east, are dependent upon the U.S. in case conflicts erupt. We are everywhere, and we support countries against tyrannies and invading countries, such as Russia and China and others.

We can pull out from everywhere and just worry about ourselves, but then, we'll be forced to get involved, in bigger wars, just like in WWI and WWII. The enemy never sleeps.

[Kazan]

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/02/the-buildup-to-war-in-ukraine-february-14-2022.html#more

The Buildup To War In Ukraine - February 14 2022

February 14 2022 was a relative quiet day. The U.S. knew that the Ukraine would soon launch a large attack on the renegade Dontezk and Luhansk republics. To protect the Russian people living there the Russian Federation would have to invade Ukraine. The White Hose continued to warn of a upcoming 'Russian invasion' that the upcoming Ukrainian actions would provoke.

[adorno]

Covid was mostly an internal matter, as far as credibility is concerned.

Foreign wars and foreign issues, are matter-of-fact issues, and we can either believe the facts or make up our own. But one thing for certain is that, in wars, people die, by the thousands and by the millions. In the Russia/Ukraine war, nobody can doubt that hundreds of thousands of casualties have been suffered, by both sides, with Russia as the invaders naturally suffering greater casualties because the land being invaded is better known by the Ukrainians,and they don't have to worry about importing forces and equipment, like the Russians do.

We may never get exact figures, but with modern weapons, you can bet the destruction and casualties will be very large.

[Midwesterner53]

Russians love human wave attacks and couldn’t care less about casualties. This is very good news that they have not changed their ways. (Retired Army Field Grade Officer)