Records of Russian Military Communications: Are the First Forces Deserting?

Created: 03/10/2022Updated: 03/10/2022 12:58 p.m

By: Tobias Utz, Monja Stolz

Pictures from the Russian news agency Sputnik show well-equipped Russian soldiers.

There are many indications that this is not the case.

© Konstantin Mihalchevskiy/dpa

Recordings of Russian armed forces talks show growing resentment on the part of the Russian army.

There are even rumors of deserting soldiers.

Update from Thursday, March 10th, 2022, 12:00 p.m.:

Two weeks have passed since the Russian military invaded Ukraine.

Two weeks full of suffering and loss - not only on the Ukrainian side.

The longer the war of aggression lasts, the more the morale of the Russian soldiers seems to be declining.

Doubts spread.

That's according to Russian military communications records from British intelligence service ShadowBreak Intl.

out.

Among other things, weeping and scolding Russian soldiers in the Ukraine war* can be heard.

The fact that it is at all possible to listen to and record the soldiers' conversations is due to the relatively poor equipment of the Russian troops.

As the US Department of Defense has already stated, there are "fuel and logistics bottlenecks".

There are increasing reports that Russian troops are not communicating via military digital radios, but via simple walkie-talkies.

This makes it possible for anyone to listen to the soldiers' conversations via the corresponding sequences.

Ukraine war – Russian army's morale is dwindling

As seen in the footage Shadowbreak Intl.

posted in part on Twitter, showing morale among Russian troops is plummeting.

Even if you don't understand Russian, you can hear that the tone of conversation between the Russian soldiers is very rough and the mood is tense. Non-Russians can also tell that a soldier is crying.

The intelligence service itself analyzed many of the conversations and found that the Russian army lacked material, such as maps, for orientation.

This creates chaos: "What we found is that the Russian soldiers are operating in complete disarray," said Samuel Cardillo, executive director of ShadowBreak Intl.

"They don't know where they're going and how to properly communicate with each other."

War in Ukraine: Russian soldiers assumed an exercise

The lack of material and lack of success are not the only factors undermining Russian soldiers' morale.

The communication and preparation in advance also causes frustration among the troops.

A high-ranking Pentagon official told the New York Times on Tuesday (03/01/22) after Russia's invasion that large parts of the Russian army are made up of poorly trained, very young soldiers.

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Military expert Nicholas Laidlaw assumes that many of the Russian soldiers were not informed about the upcoming war before the invasion.

About half of the Russian troops assumed an exercise.

It was only on the way to Ukraine that they were inaugurated and immediately armed and sent into battle.

"Apparently not everyone was fully trained or even aware that they were being sent into combat," a US government official was quoted as saying by US media.

Rumors of deserting Russian soldiers are getting louder

Add to that the fact that many Russian soldiers, influenced by Putin's propaganda*, believed that they would liberate Ukrainians from the "Nazi regime", as the Ukrainian government is called in Russia.

In the course of the fighting, however, you may have noticed that many of the Ukrainians did not wait gratefully for "liberation", but defended their country independently and with weapons they had built themselves, and continue to do so, as media reports show.

The invasion, probably planned by Putin as a lightning war, has now been going on for two weeks.

The great successes on the Russian side sometimes failed to materialize, which is probably an additional burden for the young soldiers.

More and more videos are circulating on the Internet of crying Russian soldiers in Ukrainian captivity expressing their dissatisfaction with the Russian army leadership.

Rumors of deserting army members are also getting louder in independent media.

There are even soldiers on the Russian side who are intentionally punching holes in their vehicles' fuel tanks, the Pentagon official told the New York Times.

However, there is no independent information or figures on deserted Russian soldiers.

The assumptions are based on assumptions.

(Monja Stolz)

Heavy losses for Russia: military helicopters and planes shot down

First report from Wednesday, March 9th, 2022, 4:30 p.m.:

Kiev – The reports that Russia’s* armed forces have to cope with numerous setbacks in the Ukraine conflict* are increasing.

Recently, reports have been circulating that Vladimir Putin's* army is lacking supplies.

In addition, there is apparently an army of Ukraine* that is gaining in military strength.

The BBC reports that Ukrainian forces have shot down at least 20 Russian planes so far.

In addition, there are probably numerous military helicopters.

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine had previously spoken of a total of 80 flying objects shot down, which is considered an unrealistic estimate.

Irrespective of propaganda reports from both sides, it is nevertheless clear that the airspace is contested and increasingly dominated by Ukraine, interestingly despite a former enormous disparity: According to British Defense Minister Ben Wallace, Ukraine was inferior to Russia 1:3 when the Kremlin all available flight units at the border.

In the meantime, the relationship may have changed

Ukraine war: Western missile shipment numbers fluctuate wildly

The basis of the Ukrainian military success is likely to be primarily weapons deliveries from the West.

In particular, shoulder-launched anti-aircraft missiles (“manpads”) can shoot down helicopters and airplanes.

According to the BBC report, so-called Stinger air missiles from the USA * are also used.

The US military used this primarily in Afghanistan*.

A military helicopter of the Russian Armed Forces in late February.

© SNA/Imago Images

It is difficult to put a figure on how many anti-missile defense missiles have now been delivered to Ukraine from the West.

A US defense official recently told CNN that there were around 17,000 anti-tank missiles and 2,000 Stinger air-to-air missiles.

However, this information cannot be independently verified.

Ukraine War: Soviet-era air defense systems arguably helpful

However, according to Justin Bronk, Air Force Research Officer at the Royal United Services Institute in London, Ukraine itself also has suitable combat missiles.

He told the BBC that older, long-range anti-aircraft systems dating back to the Soviet era could force Russia's planes to fly lower.

In this way, surface-to-air missiles with a weaker range would be used.

Irrespective of the equipment, however, military personnel are the key requirement for being able to push Russia back further, according to Bronk.

(tu/mos) *