'The start of Russian civil war': Wagner mercenaries Capyire officer in Putin's regular army and accuse him of ordering his men to fire on their troops as split between groups creates chaos

MAILONLINE ^ | 5 June 2023 | DAVID AVERRE and WILL STEWART

[dennisw]

The captured Lieutenant-Colonel identified himself as Roman Venevitin, commander of Russia's 72nd Brigade.

Venevitin, who appeared to have a broken or wounded nose, confessed that he 'opened fire on a Wagner PMC [private military company] vehicle while intoxicated from alcohol'.

He did so due to 'personal animosity', he claimed.

The Russian soldier admitted shooting at Wagner group vehicles while drunk It is latest report of infighting between Wagner mercenaries and Russian army

Mercenaries from Russia's Wagner group have taken captive a Lieutenant Colonel from Vladimir Putin's regular forces in the latest example of bitter infighting in Russian ranks.

The captured colonel was seen hanging his head in a humiliating video published by Wagner in which he confessed his 'guilt' and admitted to being drunk on duty after allegedly shooting at a Wagner vehicle.

This follows allegations by Wagner that the regular Russian army targeted their ranks with mines, as a clip released by the group showed their sappers clearing the explosive devices from a road.

Wagner mercenaries have been fighting for Putin in Ukraine and are credited with seizing the embattled city of Bakhmut from Ukrainian armed forces after months of bloody warfare.

But Wagner's success has seemingly angered regular Russian army commanders and relations between them are poisonous.

Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin has launched several verbal tirades at Putin's army leaders, whom he has accused of ordering their troops to retreat from their positions and leaving Wagner fighters unprotected on the frontlines.

[PIF]

The translated letter from the PMC:

To the Brigade Commander
Report
I hereby report that on 17.05.2023, information was received from the Company Employees received information that in the area of village Opytnoe and village Ozarianovka were seen groups of the Ministry of Defense, which mines roads in the rear zone of the Wagner PMC units.

On that day, a group of sappers of the 1st IMR moved out for engineering reconnaissance the specified section of roads. We found land mines in the form of large plastid, anti-tank mines and artillery shells, installed in the guided version and taken to the positions of the Department of Defense.

After a preliminary inspection of the mine sites, the groups began to clear the roads, but were forced to stop work because near Semigorje settlement about 15.40.

They were fired at with small arms fire from the direction of the Ministry of Defense. As a result, the URAL was destroyed by a direct hit to the engine.

The groups dismounted and dispersed in response and took action to eliminate the attack and detain the attackers.

They were Russian Defense Ministry servicemen. The officer in charge of the group was an officer of the Russian Defense Ministry officer in charge of the 72nd Independent Motorized Rifle Brigade Lieutenant Colonel 13647, who was in a state of alcohol intoxication.
17.05.2023
Commander of the ISB

https://t.me/s/pilotblog

[BroJoeK]

FTLB: "Propaganda is getting more shrill and unbelievable as the Ukraine gets more and more desperate and defeat becomes visible to all."

Ukrainians were certainly defeated in 2014, when Vlad invaded Crimea and the Donbas.

Ukrainians were defeated again in early 2022, when Vlad invaded Kiev, Kharkiv and more of the Donbas.

Since early 2022, Ukrainians have done much better, liberating around half of the territory Vlad's orcs took by March 2022 -- notably at Kiev, Kharkiv and Kherson.

At Bakhmut, orcs spent now 10 months attacking well-prepared Ukrainian defenses, gaining a few square miles of territory at the cost, according to US estimates, of circa 100,000 Russian forces casualties, or about 1,000 casualties for every square mile they gained.
The cost to Ukraine is said to be around 1/5 that number.

Today, months of preparation on both sides have gone into Ukraine's next expected "spring offensive".
The outcome is still very much in doubt, and worst case is Ukrainians could simply reverse the Bakhmut results, with Ukraine on offense suffering the 5 to 1 casualties.

Or Russians could panic and run again, as they did at Kiev, Kharkiv and Kherson.

As of today, nobody knows.

Krosan: "This is Wagner itself publishing a video showing a Lt. Colonel they beat up made to read a statement on their own channel."

Right, whether true or not, the video is not coming from Ukraine, it's from Wagner.

As such it may well represent reality within Russian forces.
It could also, simultaneously, be psy-ops intended to encourage Ukrainians to attack well-prepared Russian defenses, thus reversing the past 10 months losses Russia suffered at Bakhmut.

I am inclined to think that Russians, while not the super-men they wanted the world to believe, are not as weak as they've seemed lately.

[Socon-Econ]

Another of the daily Russia-Is-Doomed posts. Believe it when you see it.

[Gunslingr3]

Propaganda is getting more shrill and unbelievable

Why do you think Wagner is posting this propaganda?

[icclearly]

Oh, sure!

Putin does all this from his hospital bed, where he is being treated for brain cancer, stomach cancer, colon cancer, and kidney failure.

One helluva man -- that Putin!

[BroJoeK]

fastrock: "I have no kindness for Putin, he’s a thug, but he is also a nationalist.
So Putin will do what is best for Russia only.
All Zelensky had to do was not push for NATO entry.
Putin doesn’t want NATO missiles sitting at his doorstep.
This is the same position Prez Kennedy took during the Cuban Missile Crisis."

That's all just lies & nonsense, because NATO had nothing to do with Vlad the Invader's 2014 conquest of Crimea and parts of the Donbas, then annexation of Crimea.
And before Vlad's invasions, the majority of Ukrainians opposed NATO membership.

After Vlad's invasions, the majority of Ukrainians -- surprise! surprise! -- now support NATO membership.
Did you ever stop to ask yourself why that is?

Still, Vlad the Invader could have achieved his guaranteed no-NATO for Ukraine, any day after 2014, and might still be able to negotiate it, at the simple price of withdrawing Russians from Crimea and the Donbas.

But Vlad the Invader wants his Crimean cake and to eat Ukraine too.

Not going to happen.

[DUMBGRUNT]

—”Yet, Russia and Putin keep on fighting.”

A common event called escalation of commitment; to failure.

The decision you face now is crucial. Once large numbers of _______troops are committed to direct combat, they will begin to take heavy casualties in a war they are ill equipped to fight in a noncooperative if not downright hostile countryside. Once we suffer large casualties, we will have started a well-nigh irreversible process. Our involvement will be so great that we cannot—without national humiliation—stop short of achieving our complete objectives. Of the two possibilities, I think humiliation would be more likely than the achievement of our objectives—even after we have paid terrible costs.

“Memo from George Ball to President Johnson. A Compromise Solution in South Vietnam”.. (1995).

Also prominent is the old saying:
First-class leaders want first-class help.
Seconed-class leaders want third-class help.

Nothing new.

Coming soon, How Putin Lost Russia, a case study.

[Sunsong]

putin must need prigozhin very badly to put up with his near constant criticism of putin’s military

[JerseyDvl]

It really blows the credibility of any info contained in the post when the banner headline is so horribly mangled.
Typical amateur crap you’ll see here from people with too much free time on their hands.

[DUMBGRUNT]

That, or it could be just so much theater, for internal consumption.

[dennisw]

The decision you face now is crucial..........

I guessed ahead that this referred to the US in Vietnam. (an easy guess?) George Ball was on the ball.

[Krosan]

... but who benefits from this theater? Certainly not Putin. Some semi-official contractors beat up a Lt. Colonel and force him to make statements on video must be very embarrassing for him.

[DUMBGRUNT]

—”... but who benefits from this theater?”

“I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.”
WC

[Kazan]

https://www.moonofalabama.org/2023/06/ukraine-launches-its-counterattack.html#more

The long announced Ukrainian counter offensive has started. New Ukrainian units, never seen before, have come to the front.

The attack was launched by Ukraine for political reasons under pressure from its 'western' sponsors. Militarily it is unlikely to become successful but it will eat away at whatever is left of Ukraine's military capabilities.

Attacks happened all around the front. In the north towards Belgograd, to the east and, with the most forces, towards the south. There was so far little to no success in any of the attacks.

The daily report by the Russian Ministry of Defense list as Ukrainian losses over the last 24 hours 910 soldiers, 16 tanks, 33 armored combat vehicles/infantry fighting vehicle and some 30 trucks

So far only the most forward positions of Russian troops have been attacked. There are two to three well organized defense lines behind those. The Russians can fall back whenever needed and let the artillery and air force destroy their oncoming enemies.