(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Ukraine Invasion Day 489: counteroffensive operations continue despite RU drama [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-06-26 The future of the Wagner Group is unclear, but it will likely not include Yevgeny Prigozhin and may not continue to exist as a distinct or unitary entity. In the meantime, it remains possible that the Ukraine War might come to an end through related action. One possibility is that the Russian government will conclude that its military conquest of Ukraine has become too costly in terms of lives, resources, and internal stability to continue. Another is that the countries of the world, fed up with disastrous wars, will finally empower the United Nations to safeguard international peace and security. Either or both would be welcomed by people in Ukraine and around the globe. Some Wagner Group forces may follow Prigozhin to Belarus. Russian opposition outlet Verstka reported on June 26 that Belarusian authorities are constructing several new camps to house the Wagner Group fighters in Belarus and that the construction of a 24,000 square kilometer base for 8,000 Wagner Group fighters is already underway in Asipovichy, Mogilev Oblas t. [7] The location of a Wagner Group base in Asipovichy does not pose an immediate threat against Ukraine; Asipovichy is about 200 kilometers from Belarus’ international border with Ukraine, and the establishment of new Wagner Group bases in Gomel or Brest oblasts on the border with Ukraine would be much more alarming. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko may seek to use the Prigozhin and Wagner Group fighters to balance against a longstanding Russian effort to establish a permanent military presence in Belarus, though the extent to which Lukashenko can successfully co-opt Prigozhin or refuse a potential Russian extradition demand for Prigozhin or Wagner fighters in Belarus remains unclear. Prigozhin’s personal whereabouts remain unclear as of June 26, though some unconfirmed reports suggest that he is in the “Green City Hotel” in western Minsk City. [8] This is actually a good point - and I noticed it too. It really chaps a lot of the military guys that Shoigu swans around in uniform and plays soldier, when in fact he's never served. This might have been a "tone it down" look. https://t.co/n5KBWWUHdl The disloyalty in the ranks of military and security services and the disappearance from sight of Rosgvardiya, Putin’s praetorian guard, now pose a serious problem for the Russian president. By the end of the day, Putin had agreed to give Prigozhin and his rebels free passage to Belarus. This humiliation was agreed despite the shooting down of several aircraft by Wagner forces, killing over ten Russian servicemen. Hours earlier, Putin had vowed to bring the mutineers to justice, labelling them traitors and accusing them of pushing Russia towards anarchy and defeat. He later suffered the humiliation of having to rely on the Belarusian self-proclaimed president, Alexander Lukashenka, a man he famously despises, to negotiate terms with Prigozhin. His television appeal to the country on Saturday morning showed him in a state the Russian public has never previously seen: frightened and betraying panic. He promptly disappeared from public view and has not been seen or heard of since. Putin has been shown to have lost his previous ability to be the arbiter between powerful rival groups. This has undermined his public image in Russia as the all-powerful Tsar and called into question his value as a protector of elites’ status and wealth. US authorities knew about preparations for the mutiny in advance, but Putin did not. Clearly, parts of the Russian intelligence services colluded with Prigozhin, as did sections of the military and the internal security forces. With English-language subtitles, here is the full national address Putin made tonight in Russia. He made a very similar speech on Saturday, but this one was angrier. pic.twitter.com/u91LiKpkVE Given that we didn't really learn anything new, it seems the purpose of this speech was to ensure people knew that the terms mentioned on Saturday by Peskov were coming from Putin, particularly for Wagner members. https://t.co/cWWnA0PpzT You've got a dictator in Moscow, a dictator in Minsk (who is a faithful bondsman to the one in Moscow), and an unrepentant mercenary warlord who may be playing both sides against himself. https://t.co/WQjvNg2WQ2 What happened in Russia over the weekend? @mashagessen writes about the accidental coup attempt that may change the course of Vladimir Putin’s regime. https://t.co/ZzrYvKpvVk So far, no Belarusians have seen the #Wagner column on the territory of their country. https://t.co/YTF9d2rEPa Ukrainian and Russian forces continued to skirmish in the Donetsk-Zaporizhia oblasts administrative border area, and Ukrainian forces made gains as of June 26. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar, other Ukrainian officials, and geolocated footage confirmed that Ukrainian forces captured Rivnopil (9km southwest of Velyka Novosilka) on June 26. [50] The Russian MoD and a Russian milblogger claimed that Russian forces repelled four Ukrainian attacks near Rivnopil. [51] Other Russian sources acknowledged that Ukrainian forces entered Rivnopil but claimed that Russian forces still maintain positions in part of the settlement. [52] ...The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian forces unsuccessfully attacked near Novodarivka (14km southwest of Velyka Novosilka) in order to recapture positions in the area. [54] Ukrainian and Russian forces continued ground attacks around Bakhmut, and Ukrainian forces reportedly advanced as of June 26. Ukrainian Eastern Group of Forces Commander Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi stated that Ukrainian forces cleared a Russian bridgehead across the Siverskyi-Donets Donbas canal in the Bakhmut direction, possibly referring to an area southwest of Bakhmut. [39] Official Ukrainian footage published on June 26 shows Ukrainian forces attacking positions of the 3rd Battalion of the 57th Motorized Rifle Brigade (5th Combined Arms Army, Eastern Military District) in the Bakhmut direction, and Russian forces withdrawing across a waterway. [40] ...Ukrainian Eastern Group of Forces Spokesperson Colonel Serhiy Cherevaty stated on June 25 that Ukrainian forces advanced 600 to 1,000 meters in the Bakhmut direction. [42] The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian forces conducted unsuccessful offensive operations near Mynkivka (13km northwest of Bakhmut), Hryhorivka (10km northwest of Bakhmut), and Bohdanivka (5km northwest of Bakhmut). [43] Russian forces conducted limited ground attacks northwest of Svatove and south of Kreminna on June 26. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian forces conducted unsuccessful offensive operations near Stelmakhivka (15km northwest of Svatove), Kryvoshyivka (10km northwest of Svatove), Rozdolivka (32km southwest of Kreminna), and Vesele (32km southwest of Kreminna). [36] The Russian MoD claimed that Russian forces repelled two Ukrainian attacks near Spirne (25km south of Kreminna). [38] A Ukrainian drone strikes a Russian technical unit involved in the construction of fortifications. Who has an idea what the "spring" on the front does? #Russia #RussiaIsCollapsing #Ukraine #Ukrainians #RussianArmy pic.twitter.com/T4CzhIR9DF ***UPDATE*** Here-> https://t.co/cAahpLfaMs Overview of the evolution of #Ukraine ’s maritime drones (USVs) and the Russian copies. With time, we can piece this together. Perhaps when the war is over we can have a more complete report, but this is how it seems based on #OSINT pic.twitter.com/E1zNUNkVPz "Two or three times a day I was electrocuted." Serhiy Pihar describes how he was tortured by Russian troops after being detained in Mykolaiv Oblast in June 2022. - by @rferl 's @radiosvoboda pic.twitter.com/zwmc6vODZs Chechnya’s Akhmat battalion say they were sooooooo close to Wagner during the uprising on Saturday and totally could have beaten them but they bravely didn’t do anything because nobody told them to. The fact nobody saw them there is a sign of their stealth https://t.co/JRrguK6WPg 17/ Kindly ensure to like and follow, as Twitter algorithms tend to demote content related to war and Ukraine, so you do not miss the second part. and coordinated joint actions during marches, urban assaults, capturing fortified points, and securing gains.It is noteworthy that Company Z includes inmates, and there are particular regulations concerning their participation, which I will cover in the Part II. 15/ and preparation for coordinated actions during marches, urban assault, capturing fortified points, and securing gains. The third stage of training involves the coordination of platoons, with a main focus on preparing them for conducting assault operations 14/ The second stage of training involves squad coordination, with a focus on joint actions of military personnel in combat pairs, trios, and squads. It includes self-help and mutual assistance, mutual fire cover, radio communication, 13/ camouflage, shelter preparation, reconnaissance, and communication. The training also includes specialized instruction for UAV operators and mine and booby trap deployment and removal. 12/ GROUP TRAINING The training and coordination of Z Company typically requires 10 to 15 days and is conducted in three stages. During the first stage, the focus is on restoring military personnel's proficiency in various skills, including weapons handling, first aid, It should be noted that the servicemen who join the Storm-Z unit are granted a status equivalent to that of "BARS" volunteers, and they receive a salary of 205,000 rubles per month for the duration of their contract. • To carry out sabotage operations in territories controlled by the enemy.• To search for and destroy sabotage and reconnaissance groups. The goals of the Storm 'Z' company are:• To conduct combat operations in a city (settlement) or areas with difficult geographical conditions.• To capture important objects such as strongholds, command posts, communication centers, buildings, structures The composition of the company (or detachment) has a flexible structure that varies depending on the received combat mission, the situational conditions, the terrain, and other factors, and is completed with the necessary number of personnel 3/ The document outlines a request to establish 'Storm Z' companies within the following units: Separate Motorized Rifle Brigades: 1st, 9th, 110th, 114th of the 1st Army Corps Motorized Rifle Regiments(150th division): 102nd, 103rd The document defines "Storm Z" Company as an independent, joint, tactical, combined-arms company temporarily created outside the regular army corps unit structure for immediate operational use in performing particularly complex combat missions. Thread🧵 I obtained a russian document titled "Regulation on Storm Units Z of the 8th Combined Arms Army." This document outlines the objectives, organization, and logistical requirements of 'Storm Z' units. After analyzing its contents, I have distilled the main points. pic.twitter.com/vY5cqqzQRw x 1/ A retired Russian tank battalion commander has given a frank interview about the rampant corruption that he says has led to the "complete collapse of the Russian army" in the last 16 years. His comments highlight how the army has rotted from within during the Putin era. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/Bg0b2EgZsp — ChrisO_wiki (@ChrisO_wiki) June 26, 2023 3/ Rozhkov, a St. Petersburger, served for 15 years and resigned from the army at the age of 36 shortly before the Ukraine war begin. He says he decided that he did not want to "degrade further in this system" and has since been avoiding mobilisation orders. 4/ Rozkhov blames many of the problems on the military reforms begun in the 2000s under then-Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov. At that time, the mandatory length of service for conscripts was reduced from two years to one year. According to Rozhkov, this was disastrous. Rozkhov blames many of the problems on the military reforms begun in the 2000s under then-Defence Minister Anatoly Serdyukov. At that time, the mandatory length of service for conscripts was reduced from two years to one year. According to Rozhkov, this was disastrous. 5/ "When the Russian army began to serve for one year we practically lost a whole chain of junior commanders. Because with the two-year service, during the [first] year the newcomers were taught some things related to technical specialities by the older servicemen. 6/ "And when they switched to [only] a year of service, there was no one to teach them. Now a soldier can only learn to sweep in a year. And at best he'll take a couple of trips to the firing range. He'll hold an automatic rifle, and in a month he'll have forgotten how to do it. 7/ "No one has even taught them anything close to military training." 8/ At the same time, officers and NCOs from the conscript army were selected to become professional "contract" soldiers. But Rozhkov says this too was done in a disastrous way, leading to many unsuitable people becoming today's senior officers. 9/ "There were telegrams from the top, that it was necessary to select the best officers and the best non-commissioned officers who had one year of service left. And to send them to the training centres. 10/ "But they began to send not the best officers, but the most lousy ones, who had already annoyed everyone in the unit. And sergeants – the worst scoundrels. Well, there was mayhem and mass drunkenness in these centres. Nobody taught anybody anything. 11/ "And from the outside, the contract servicemen were mostly from the edge of society, as a rule. Those who were unable to prove themselves in civilian life. Alcoholics, parasites and all sorts of scumbags. But in the army you didn't have to do anything. 12/ "You had to line up in the morning, wiggle your head, walk around and you got your pay. And then they'd give you an apartment. I just decided to walk away from it all." 13/ As a result of the corruption, he says, Russia's colonels and lieutenant colonels are largely useless. Rozhkov says they would be in absolutely no demand in civilian life and are employed in the army as metaphorical "barrier openers". As a result of the corruption, he says, Russia's colonels and lieutenant colonels are largely useless. Rozhkov says they would be in absolutely no demand in civilian life and are employed in the army as metaphorical "barrier openers". 14/ Rozhkov says that "window dressing" permeates the army at all levels, with units' readiness routinely faked for the benefit of senior officers. He was not surprised at the many complaints that have emerged of faulty and outdated equipment. 15/ "So you have 18 command and staff vehicles in your unit, and only two of them are operational. When the inspection comes, these two working vehicles move from one unit to another, to be photographed and [a report] is sent upstairs. We are fine, look. And this is everywhere." 17/ Anton Igolkin, a graduate of the Higher School of Economics in Moscow, recalls how it worked in his conscript training a few years ago when he did his military training in his last year at the university. 18/ "We were never taken to the firing range. Instead, we just took photos [of ourselves] with guns. Every morning started with a burst of patriotic spirit. 19/ "It was quite funny, because the Russian national anthem was played through an iPhone and played on an old Soviet loudspeaker. The unit commander drank every day. 20/ "After the second bottle of vodka he would crawl into his Land Cruiser and drive at breakneck speed around the compound. How he didn't hit anyone, it's a wonder." 21/ Tank training was also routinely faked. Crews are supposed to do a certain amount of hours in their tanks, but Rozkhov says that this was faked by "winding up" the tanks to ensure the instruments showed the mandated amount of mileage. Tank training was also routinely faked. Crews are supposed to do a certain amount of hours in their tanks, but Rozkhov says that this was faked by "winding up" the tanks to ensure the instruments showed the mandated amount of mileage. 22/ "Technically it's not hard to do. The track shaft is removed from the chain links and the running tank simply stands still and runs idle. Subsequently, the perfect, brand new equipment, which has never been driven anywhere, is simply written off and sent to a special base." 24/ Rozkov comments: "But no one, of course, came to the unit commander and said: "Comrade Colonel, my barracks is not painted because there is no paint." And if someone did come, there was such a response that it's hard to call it an insult. I'm not going to reproduce it. 25/ "In literary terms, the point was this: "I don't even care how you do it. Just do it, and that's it."" Promotion is also subject to corruption, with officers obtaining seniority through bribes paid to the commander of the unit. 26/ "Let's say your term to get a rank came up but there was no position available. So they call you up and say: look, there's a vacancy here, but you're not the only one applying for it. 27/ "A silent auction begins between those who are more or less sane, who can write, read and speak. And the highest bidder wins in the end. When I had to get a captaincy, they asked me to pay 150,000 rubles [$1,777] for the post of company commander. That was still inexpensive." 28/ Many officers compensate for their expenditure by extorting money from subordinates. Rozkhov says that platoon commanders, through their non-commissioned officers, forced conscripts to write letters home with requests to send remittances which the officers then stole. 29/ Some company commanders objected to this practice and tried to stop it, but Rozkhov says that the military investigating authorities did not care at all about what was happening and did nothing about it. 30/ Igolkin experienced this first-hand. "I still remember frozen beef carcasses with the ink stamp '1974' and poor conscripts with grey faces, who went around begging for cigarettes from us,... 31/ ...explaining that they will be beaten up by their 'grandfathers' [older servicemen] and sergeants if they don't bring their smokes. And at the military department itself they were already extorting bribes from us. 32/ "Two colonels from Moscow, who taught us, blackmailed everyone that they would fail the final exam and forced us to contribute money. 33/ "And when one of the students complained to the university's management, these soldiers didn't just apologise, they publicly threatened the guy who had complained. They asked him in public if he knew what it felt like to be squeezed out of a toothpaste tube." 35/ Many Russian soldiers have complained, before and during the war, that they have been unable to get uniforms in the sizes they need. Mobilised men have often ended up buying their own uniforms – or outdoor clothes of some kind at least – from camping stores. 36/ In Igolkin's case, he recalls that the men at his training camp for conscripts were given only "some mismatched shirts" as uniforms. There were no boots at all, so they were allowed to wear their own shoes. 37/ Much of this is due to corrupt quartermasters who make extra money by selling military stores, as Rozkhov notes. "Military jackets, for example, are gladly taken by fishermen engaged in winter fishing. They can buy such clothes for a whole fishing party of 10-15 people." 39/ Stolen clothing is written off to 'dead souls' – fictitious soldiers who, Rozhkov says, exist in every military unit. This is a scam which dates back to tsarist times and was the focus of a famous novel by Gogol in 1842. Some dead souls, as Rozhkov found, are very much alive. 40/ The scheme Rozhkov describes is not complicated: an ex-soldier wanting some extra money negotiates a fictitous return to the army with the unit's commander or chief of staff. He's put back on the payroll as a 'dead soul' and shares his salary with his uniformed 'sponsor'. 41/ The 'dead soul' doesn't do any actual military service. He only shows up at the unit during inspections, so that the scam can keep going. The rest of the unit is, of course, fully aware of what is going on. 42/ Rozhkov saw this first-hand in his unit. "One day I come to the formation, and I turn my head sideways – there are two warrant officers standing there. And I see them for the first time. So I understood that the two of them were Armenians. Our commander was also an Armenian. 43/ "I see that some people from the Investigative Committee are walking around and I understood at once that they are the commander's dead souls. They come up to me and ask if I know these people. Well, if I am in the system, I am not going to set up the commander. 44/ "I said that yes, I see them every day, but I do not know them personally. Then the commander was prosecuted anyway and after the trial he was fined half a million ($5,923) and dismissed. 45/ But when the dismissal documents were sent to Moscow in a special car, they simply did not get there. Probably the Armenian diaspora got involved. So he worked his way up to retirement. Then he wrote a report and left." 46/ Some commanders came up with more creative ideas to make money on the side. In 2010, Rozkhov says, his regiment was doing tank training exercises in the Vladimir region. "We went to the training area, practiced riding and firing. 47/ "And the regiment leadership had a genius idea - why not to make some more money out of it. Some people found, who were ready to pay for that to ride on the tank and to shoot. Civilians, you know? Nothing to do with the army. A tank safari for the rich. 48/ "And two conscripts got crushed to death as a result." The incident was hushed up. Rozhkov is highly critical of the army's failure to provide its soldiers with modern equipment. "I never saw any novelties there during the whole time of my service. 49/ "I had a 1961 submachine gun when I was at the college. Then "new" armament started coming in and the submachine gun was made in 1978. And after the Kalashnikov assault rifle, nothing else appeared in our army. 50/ "We like to show off at various forums and exhibitions: look what a splendid plane we have. Well, we have just one! What an awesome automatic rifle we've made! Yes, but we haven't put it into mass production to staff the army." 51/ Having experienced war as a tank battalion commander in South Ossetia in 2008, when he suffered a wound from a landmine explosion, Rozkhov is not keen to repeat the experience of going to the "aid" of a hostile population. 52/ "I remember very well how the local population there felt towards Russian soldiers. Many Ossetians told us openly that we were occupiers just as much as the Georgians. After a curfew it was better not to show our faces on the street in uniform so as not to lose our heads." 53/ Rozkhov is deeply sceptical of Putin's motives and has no desire to go to Ukraine. "I just don't understand why I have to die for some czar who got bored at the age of 70, or maybe he got schizophrenic and decided to feel like Tamerlane, to conquer something." /end • • • [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/6/26/2177793/-Ukraine-Invasion-Day-489-counteroffensive-operations-continue-despite-RU-drama Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/