Russia's heavy casualties in Ukraine spark outcry and rare official response - The Washington Post

It was the archetypal clip since the commencement of Russia’s penetration that the ministry has officially responded to reports of wide casualties and disapproval of commanders connected Telegram, the main level utilized by officials arsenic good arsenic by reporters and bloggers covering the Russian war.

Criticizing the warfare — oregon adjacent calling it a warfare alternatively than a “special subject operation” — is amerciable successful Russia. But the Kremlin successful caller months has tolerated disapproval of the military’s mediocre show by pro-war hawks who backmost the invasion, including immoderate demanding adjacent much brutal tactics successful Ukraine.

On Sunday, pro-Kremlin subject correspondents posted the substance of a missive sent by the members of the 155th Brigade, which is usually based successful Russia’s Far East, decrying the bid that sent them into what they called “an incomprehensible offensive” successful the colony of Pavlivka, successful Ukraine’s Donetsk region.

“As a effect of the ‘carefully’ planned violative by the ‘great generals,’ we mislaid astir 300 radical killed, wounded and missing arsenic good arsenic fractional the instrumentality successful 4 days,” the missive said. It was addressed to Gov. Oleg Kozhemyako of the Primorsky region, which lies connected the seashore of the Sea of Japan.

Nearly 6,000 miles away, successful eastbound Ukraine, the upwind had turned for the worse successful Pavlivka, with rainfall muddying the roads and making reinforcement of troops successful the country adjacent much difficult, the commandant of the pro-Russian Vostok battalion, Alexander Khodakovsky, wrote connected Telegram implicit the weekend.

“My fears astir Pavlivka were justified,” Khodakovsky said, adding that helium felt the advancement successful the country initiated by Russian commanders had been “premature.”

The missive besides specifically criticized Rustam Muradov, the commandant of Russia’s Eastern Military District, who was appointed successful October. Earlier successful the war, Muradov led the Vostok grouping of forces, which was liable for operations successful eastbound areas of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Officially, the subject did not springiness the crushed for the reassignment, but it came aft the Russian subject suffered a decision successful Lyman, a cardinal logistics and proviso hub successful Donetsk area. The embarrassing decision successful occurred a time aft Russian President Vladimir Putin declared Donetsk and 3 different Ukrainian regions to beryllium annexed by Russia — a usurpation of planetary law.

The Russian concatenation of bid has appeared to beryllium successful changeless disarray passim the warfare arsenic Moscow repeatedly switched wide commanders and replaced apical generals successful each 4 of its subject districts.

Most recently, Russian media reported that Col. Gen. Alexander Lapin nary longer runs the Central Military District aft helium was repeatedly bashed by Chechen person Ramzan Kadyrov and Yevgeniy Prigozhin, Putin’s state and the financier of Wagner mercenary group, implicit strategical missteps and the mediocre show of his troops.

The governor, Kozhemyako, astatine archetypal dismissed the missive arsenic a “potential fake planted” by Ukrainians but aboriginal issued a video connection saying helium had contacted the officers connected the beforehand enactment who confirmed determination had been dense warring and losses, but, helium said, “the fig is arsenic not arsenic precocious arsenic it’s written successful this letter.”

“Due to the competent actions of the commanders, the losses among the marines implicit this play bash not transcend 1 percent of the combat unit and 7 percent of the wounded, a important portion of whom person already returned to duty,” the Russian Defense Ministry said successful its statement, issued connected Monday.

The ministry added that the 155th Brigade had been warring adjacent the determination hub of Vuhledar for much than 10 days and precocious “five kilometers heavy into Ukrainian positions.”

Many pro-war commentators successful Russia person been urging the ministry to beryllium much transparent astir its defeats. But alternatively than mollify these critics, the connection lone inflamed their choler by minimizing the grade of the losses.

“So acold it looks similar that the military, having noticed different impending question of discontent, decided to rapidly subcontract the authorities of the portion to their broadside and marginalize the full situation, erstwhile again pretending that thing is happening,” wrote a fashionable blogger who writes nether the moniker Military Informer. “We anticipation this concern volition change.”

Moscow’s apical brass are besides present trying to fend disconnected different nationalist ungraded aft residents of Voronezh, a metropolis successful a strategical Russian portion adjacent the Ukrainian border, complained that precocious conscripted men from the portion had been sent unprepared to Svatove, a municipality successful the Luhansk portion that has been the tract of fierce battles. Hundreds whitethorn person died, according to Russian outlet Verstka.

“For 3 days they were nether shelling, they tried to past the champion they could … they had nary nutrient and nary sleep, they held up for 3 days and didn’t flee, dissimilar their commanding officers,” Inna Popova, the woman of a soldier, said successful a video code recorded by the soldiers’ household members, and posted by Verstka.

“Please assistance america rescue our mobilized [men] and region them from the archetypal enactment of defense,” Popova said, adding that her hubby had been mobilized connected Oct. 12 and sent to Ukraine soon after.

Russian officials repeatedly asserted that the caller conscripts, called up amid an unpopular mobilization effort initiated by Putin to replenish his service aft respective setbacks, would beryllium tasked chiefly with controlling already occupied areas and supporting the rear, and not to service arsenic the main advancing force.

Moscow took power of the Luhansk portion aboriginal successful the war, but its grip connected the territory is nether menace aft Russian troops suffered a decision adjacent Kharkiv successful September and mislaid Lyman, successful the country Col. Gen. Lapin was liable for, according to Russian media.

If Russia loses Svatove, Ukrainian forces astir apt volition beryllium capable to beforehand further into Luhansk, regaining overmuch of the territory that Putin claimed to beryllium annexed and absorbed into Russia.

Verstka, citing household members, reported that men mobilized successful Voronezh ended up connected the beforehand enactment aft conscionable a fewer days of training, astir apt a determination by their commanders aimed astatine closing the gaps successful antiaircraft lines and rotating retired exhausted troops.

Two servicemen from the Voronezh portion told Verstka that lone a fewer twelve men from much than 500 solders successful their portion person been accounted for since the aggravated shelling past week.

Pro-Kremlin Telegram transmission “War connected Fakes,” which is often quoted by the Defense Ministry, dismissed the reports arsenic false.

The Voronezh portion governor, Alexander Gusev, said Sunday that helium had met with the household members who recorded the video address. Gusev’s property work did not refute reports of wide causalities, and a section quality outlet deleted a study that had called the accusation fake.

“The concern is rather hard successful presumption of uncovering objectivity, truthful we bash not instrumentality work for making specified statements and discussing immoderate figures and facts,” the property work told section excavation journalists, according to a screenshot posted by a writer successful the pool.

Russia has officially sent a reinforcement of 50,000 mobilized men to Ukraine successful caller weeks with astatine slightest different 250,000 soldiers inactive successful training, Putin said Monday during a authorities meeting.

Russia and Ukrainian forces are each preparing for a bitter wintertime that volition complicate virtually each facet of the war, from logistics to morale to the carnal wellness of the troops.

For Ukraine, the approaching acold upwind volition beryllium progressively hard to brace aft weeks of Russia attacks connected the country’s vigor infrastructure.

In Kyiv, the capital, Monday passed successful comparative quiescent without aerial raid sirens oregon harm from Russian missiles — a invited alteration for residents who person grown utilized to Monday greeting strikes implicit the past month.

But the attacks person forced authorities to program blackouts astir the superior and successful different parts of the state to relieve the strain connected the vigor grid, and millions successful the capital and its vicinity were without powerfulness overnight.