A Russian soldier captured by Ukraine recorded himself looting an abandoned house in the Kursk region. The video was reportedly retrieved from his mobile phone. It potentially corroborates reports of widespread looting from their own civilians by the Russian military. ⬇️
In the video, the man shows himself wandering around the house’s ransacked interior. The building appears to have been damaged, probably by shelling. He complains that “the Ministry of Defence” (i.e. the Army) have been there before him and have stripped the house.
3/ At least three of his colleagues are visible in and around the building’s garage. Describing it as “rich” (in loot, presumably), he says they are “cleaning it [out]”.
4/ It’s not clear which force the man is from, but his reference to “the Ministry of Defence” suggests that he’s not Army. It’s most likely that he’s a member of the Rosgvardiya (Russian National Guard) which answers directly to Putin.
The video helps to corroborate a report today that “rampant looting” by Russian forces has broken out in frontline regions in the path of the Ukrainian advance. It appears that the Russians are having serious problems with military indiscipline.
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9/ The video suggests that there’s been a major breakdown in Russian command and control along the frontlines – they would probably not be looting if they had an officer with them. The men in the video were most likely wandering around without any orders. /end
https://threadreaderapp.com/thread/1823003072177553458.html
This comment as well as the one 2 comments previous, both refer to possible misbehavior within the Ukraine invaded Kursk territory. This comment specifically referring to behavior of Russian soldier, and perhaps border guards, and the previous comment expressing official concern about actions and behaviors in the occupied area Elsewhere I have seen complaints that Kadyrov’s Chechen troups had left quickly when the Ukraine troops crossed the border, leaving the official Border Guards to deal with the enemy. Who knows if Chechens might be doing some of the looting of Russian homes? Then again who knows if Kadyrov may want to preserve his troops and go supervise an uprising in Chechnia? So, he is the bully who came out on top when Russia destroyed his cities and country, perhaps he has just been waiting for the RIGHT moment. Meanwhile here is an interesting Chechen related link I encountered.
“Kursk locals, conscripts share Kadyrov troop locations with Ukrainian Armed Forces
Kanal13
1.65M subscribers
8-13-2024 7:00 p.m. EDT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7i15H-Op_Eg
“Since the Ukrainian operation in Russia’s Kursk region started, local residents and Russian soldiers stationed there have been willingly providing the OSINT community InformNapalm with operational information about Ramzan Kadyrov’s militants.
The hostility of Kursk residents towards Kadyrov’s forces is attributed to their abuse of civilians, while the conscripts suffer from the non-regulatory practices imposed by Kadyrov’s militants. InformNapalm relays all obtained intelligence to the Ukrainian Defense Forces and provides Russian conscripts with safe conditions for surrendering to Ukrainian forces. [Some here at FR will remember how Chechen troops with rifles assisted Russian vote collectors go door to door to collect referendum votes from east Ukraine citizens in clear plastic boxes.]
InformNapalm’s founder, Roman Burko, mentioned receiving “dozens of messages” from residents of the Kursk region who are in the combat zone.
“We are grateful to the residents of the Kursk region who risked their lives to provide information about Kadyrov’s men and assist the Ukrainian Armed Forces in liberating the Kursk region from Kremlin occupation,” emphasized Roman Burko.
Swedish media site Dagens News has an explosive report out that Ukraine’s recent invasion of Russia’s Kursk Oblast may have been facilitated by ‘treason’ of the Chechens who were supposedly manning the border posts there and refused to fight against the Ukrainian invasion force.
Military bloggers and analysts are abuzz with claims that Kadyrov’s troops have betrayed Russia and struck a covert agreement with Ukraine, raising serious questions about the loyalty and actions of these units, according to Ziare.
According to military bloggers known for their “Z” commentary, Kadyrov’s Akhmat unit allegedly backstabbed Russian forces by deliberately avoiding confrontation with Ukrainian troops during an offensive in the Kursk region.
A former Wagner mercenary, who goes by the name Alex Parker, has shared on his Telegram page that Kadyrov’s forces were well-informed about the Ukrainian advance and intentionally allowed them to proceed. Russian military propagandists have expressed outrage, accusing Kadyrov of betraying Russia by orchestrating a secret non-aggression pact with Ukraine.
This alleged treachery has fueled claims that Kadyrov’s men abandoned their positions and avoided combat rather than defending the Russian frontier.”
If Kadyrov decides this is the time to “liberate” Chechnia, I wish him well, as I did Prigozhin when he marched on Moscow. Then again, perhaps Kadyrov plans to finish the march on Moscow—with a different ending. Time will tell!!