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ChrisO_wiki

ChrisO_wiki
@ChrisO_wiki

Mar 4, 2023
10 tweets
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1/ In the latest indication of poor morale in the Russian armed forces, around 20 soldiers of the 126th Coastal Defence Brigade in the occupied part of Ukraine's Kherson region have attempted to resign from the Russian army for conscientious objections. All have been refused. ⬇️

2/ Sirena News reports that in December 2022, around 20 out of 27 servicemen from the brigade stationed in the Kherson region wrote resignations, citing conscientious objections. But it's clear that they are discontent with the way they have been treated by their commanders.
3/ Significantly, the objectors are not mobilised men, but contract (professional) soldiers of the regular army. The 126th Brigade was severely mauled during Ukraine's offensive at Kherson last year, reportedly suffering 75% losses and losing much of its equipment.
4/ According to @ISW, "a video posted to social media on October 13 shows servicemen of the 126th Coastal Defence Brigade of the Black Sea Fleet in an unspecified location in Kherson Oblast complaining that they have been fighting in the area since the beginning of…
5/ …the war without breaks or troop rotation. The servicemen asserted that they are being “crushed” by Ukrainian forces and emphasized that they have one BTR (armored personnel carrier) for 80 people, which is greatly restricting their maneuverability."
6/ Since retreating, the survivors of the brigade have been occupying strongpoints across the other side of the Dnipro, where they have been under relentless Ukrainian mortar fire.
7/ A fellow soldier says of the objectors: "They say it's all fucked up. The commanders don't let you rest, the men all sit on the spot and catch mortars with their fucking mouths. To rest, you need to get injured and go to the hospital. There are no other options."
8/ Sirena reports that when the resignations were filed, the men's commanders turned up in person at the strongpoint where they were stationed, for the first time in several months. They were not sympathetic to the complainants.
9/ According to Sirena, the commanders refused to let the soldiers resign, deprived them of leave and announced that "everybody would now sit in the strongpoint day and night". This is unlikely to have improved morale. /end Source: t.me/news_sirena/11…
ChrisO_wiki

ChrisO_wiki

@ChrisO_wiki
Independent military history author and researcher. Also at https://t.co/T008p5JDEr
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