Russian Troops Are Mocking “Great Generals” After Losing Hundreds Of Soldiers in Ukraine: A letter published on the Grey Zone Telegram channel, a social media account dedicated to Russian military matters, revealed how Russian soldiers are growing increasingly frustrated with decisions made by their country’s military leaders.
The letter, which was addressed to Oleg Nikolaevich, the governor of Primorsky Krai, openly mocked Russian generals for their actions in Ukraine, prompting a response from the Russian Ministry of Defense.
“Dear Oleg Nikolaevich. The Marines of the 155th Marine Brigade are addressing you,” the letter reads.
“Once again we were thrown into an incomprehensible offensive by General Muradov and his korefan countryman Akhmedov in order for Muradov to earn bonuses to Gerasimov and Akhmedov Muradov promised a hero of Russia. As a result, we and the Marines of Kamchatka are advancing on Pavlovka.”
The letter then sarcastically goes on to say that as a result of the “carefully planned” offensive in Ukraine organized by “great generals,” the 155th Marine Brigade lost 300 people to death or injury within just four days.
The letter also claims that 50% of their equipment had been lost and that other brigades are experiencing similar problems.
“The district command, together with Akhmedov, hides this and takes the official figures of losses for fear of responsibility. As they were about to capture the settlement slipping through the landings in which the enemy was left now destroying ours on the ways of evacuating the wounded and delivering ammunition,” it continues.
Ukraine Problems: What Did the Defense Ministry Say?
In response to the letter, the Russian government noted that units of the 155th brigade had been “conducting effective offensive operations in the Ulugar direction” for more than ten days, and that as a result of the “competent actions” of commanders of the units, the losses of the Marines during that time didn’t exceed 1% of combat strength, nor did they exceed 7% wounded.
This isn’t the first time that the Russian government has faced criticism from troops in Ukraine, with Western intelligence repeatedly showing how soldiers feared that the war was pointless and that generals were making bad decisions.
Only last week, the British Ministry of Defence revealed in an intelligence update how Russian soldiers describe their aging Soviet tanks as “aluminium cans.” Intercepted phone calls from the front lines have also revealed widespread discontent with Russian leadership, with some soldiers describing Putin as a “fool” and even revealing how the Russian leadership is ordering troops to “kill any civilian that walks by and drag them into the forest.”
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
