Russian troops slams generals over ‘incomprehensible battle’ in Donetsk

• Moscow has been trying to break through Kyiv’s defenses around Pavlivka for at least seven days.
• Marines accused officials of “hiding” casualties “for fear of being held accountable” Moscow claims to have illegally annexed the region a month ago.
• Russian military analysts criticize Donetsk strategy. Gov. Khodakovsky said Pavlivka’s defenses held marines prisoner.

Russian military reportedly suffered serious losses over a week of intensive warfare in Donetsk, Ukraine. Moscow has been trying to break through Kyiv’s defenses around Pavlivka for at least seven days, but has made little success, according to an open letter published on a renowned Russian military blog on Monday.

In a rare act of defiance, the 155th Brigade of the Russian Pacific Fleet Marines accused officials of “hiding” casualties “for fear of being held accountable.”

The letter, apparently written from the front lines to a regional Russian governor, arrived amid Moscow’s wobbly push in a region President Vladimir Putin claimed to have illegally annexed a month ago.

“Once again we were thrown into an incomprehensible battle by General Muradov and his brother-in-law, his countryman Akhmedov, so that Muradov could earn bonuses to make him look good in the eyes of Gerasimov (Russia’s Chief of the General Staff),” the men said in the memo, sent to the governor of Primorsky Krai.

“As a result of the ‘carefully’ planned offensive by the ‘great commanders’ we lost about 300 men, dead and wounded, with some MIA over the past four days.

“We lost 50% of our equipment. That’s our brigade alone. The district command together with Akhmedov are hiding these facts and skewing the official casualty statistics for fear of being held accountable.”

They implored Governor Oleg Kozhemyako: “For how long will such mediocrities as Muradov and Akhmedov be allowed to continue to plan the military actions just to keep up appearances and gain awards at the cost of so many people’s lives?”

Russian military commentators have also criticized the army’s approach in Donetsk.

“The situation in Pavlivka has been discussed at the highest level for several days, and the blood keeps spilling,” Aleksandr Sladkov, a Russian military journalist working for All-Russian State Television and Radio, said on Telegram.

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“Troops say that there is a dilemma now: exhausted units cannot be withdrawn without fresh ones being brought in. There are no fresh units and no possibility of withdrawal and replacement due the constant firing,” Russian military journalist Alexey Sukonkin, also posted on Telegram.

“Why did we retreat from Pavlivka and have to recapture it now?” Aleksander Khodakovsky, a Russian-backed commander from the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, said in criticism of Moscow’s tactical approach to the region.

According to Khodakovsky, Russian troops were utilizing basements as defensive positions, therefore they were oblivious to any flanking movements by the Ukrainians.

“That’s why quite a few Marines, including company commanders, were taken prisoner then. Not because they were weak in spirit, but because they were held hostage by their organization of defenses,” Khodakovsky said, adding that Ukrainian reconnaissance troops had used high-rise buildings in nearby Vuhledar and cameras fixed to the top of mine shafts to guide artillery strikes.

“The defenders of Pavlivka will again be taken hostage. Supplies and rotations will be difficult, it will be impossible to move through Pavlivka,” he said.

Governor Kozhemyako acknowledged he had received a letter from the regiment.

“We contacted our Marine commanders on the front lines. These are guys who have been in combat since the beginning of the operation,” the governor said on Telegram.

The combat commander had highlighted that the number of deaths among the (Primorsky) men had been greatly overstated, Kozhemyako continued.

“I also know at first hand that our fighters showed at Pavlivka, as well as during the whole special military operation, true heroism and unprecedented courage. We inflicted serious damage on the enemy.”

Kozhemyako said that the military prosecutor’s office had received the troops’ complaint.

Russia’s defense ministry issued a rare public response to criticism of the military operation in Donetsk, denying that its forces suffered “high, pointless losses in people and equipment.”

Russia’s losses in the area of Vuhledar and Pavlivka in the Donetsk region “do not exceed 1% of the combat strength and 7% of the wounded, a significant part of whom have already returned to duty,” the ministry claimed Monday, Russian state media agency reported.

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