More than half of the Russian troops sent to war are said to have been put out of action. The death toll is about 30,000 soldiers and the number of wounded would rise to about 60,000
Russia is hiding the real figures of casualties during the invasion of Ukraine, but according to the general staff of the Ukrainian army, 26,000 soldiers are dead. Russian expert on military affairs, Sergei Zhirnov, calculates that Russia sent 150,000 troops to Ukraine at the start of the invasion, of which 30,000, according to his data, were killed and, he emphasizes, “at least 60,000 could have been wounded. ” More than half of the operation’s components or nearly two-thirds would have been out of order.
Given this situation, President Vladimir Putin could mobilize and send the male population to fight in Ukraine in the event of a previous declaration of war. But the impact such a measure would have on Russian society, where in general hardly anyone is prepared to die in a war whose goals are vague (denazification, demilitarization, protecting Donbas from genocide, fighting NATO or eliminating of the threat Ukraine supposedly poses to Russia), they seem to advise limiting themselves to a simple “special military operation” for now, as Putin proclaimed on February 24.
The problem is, this formula doesn’t legally allow anyone to be forced to fight or lay hands on young people in military service. The focus of the operation is solely with the professional army, those who previously belonged to the Russian armed forces and those who signed up under contract during the recruitment campaign promoted by the Russian Ministry of Defense because of the heavy casualties that its troops are adding up every day in Ukraine.
In Russia, military service is compulsory for all men between the ages of 18 and 27. It has a duration of 18 months, except for those with higher education, in which case they will be on duty for twelve months and with the option of adapting the conditions to their academic needs. However, replacement soldiers cannot be sent into a conflict. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced this in early March.
However, it was later discovered that young people had been sent to Ukraine, many had just turned 18 and were serving in the military. Putin protested, demanded it not be repeated and ordered an investigation to clarify how they ended up on the battlefield.
The truth is that much later, after the sinking of the cruiser Moskva on April 14, thanks to requests from relatives for news of its whereabouts, it was learned that much of the crew who died in the shipwreck had been replaced. seamen. Overseen by the Committee of Soldiers’ Mothers, efforts are being made to prevent these “non-professional” youths from being sent to war.
So, all the efforts of the Russian Ministry of Defense are now aimed at recruiting as many “kontráktniki”, citizens preferably with previous service experience in the security forces (army, police, national guard or secret services), for which a professional contract is offered for a certain time and specific salary conditions. However, given the dire need for more soldiers on the front lines, the military commissioners enlisting in Russia may not be too scrupulous when it comes to demanding skills in handling weapons.
Russian intelligence officer and former commander-in-chief of Donetsk rebel forces, Igor Guirkin (Strelkov), has repeatedly denounced the defection of contracted regular soldiers, who apparently cannot be subject to martial law. The salary of a soldier with a private contract varies between 35,000 and 100,000 rubles (between 500 and 1,500 euros). But the news reaching them of heavy casualties in Ukraine makes many resort to desertion or disobeying orders. And many who had thought of enlisting in the first place are withdrawing. Guirkin is convinced that ‘sooner or later we must declare a general mobilization if we are to win the war’.
There is also controversy about the amount that relatives of Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine receive as compensation. The Ukrainian media, citing government sources in Kiev, speak of a one-time payment of 10,000 rubles (about 150 euros), but Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, whose soldiers he sent to Donbass and participates in the attack on the Azovstal steel plant, assures that it’s a “lie”. According to his information, “the family of a fallen soldier in Ukraine will receive two million rubles” (almost 31,000 euros).
The scandal erupted in the city of Setubal and the shock wave has reached the highest levels of the Portuguese government. The background, an alleged leak of private data of Ukrainian refugees. And the mentioned, a couple of Russian descent (Igor Khashin and Yulia Kashina), associated with various immigrant reception organizations, also in charge of processing asylum applications, and with ties to the Russian government.
A case discovered by the Portuguese weekly “Expresso” yesterday prompted the judicial police to enter the headquarters of the refugee organization Setubal and seize several documents. Ukrainian refugees (just over a hundred) reported that in their interviews with Khashin and Kashina – who have already been expelled from the association – they were asked personal questions about relatives still in Ukraine.
In fact, Khashin had been under Portuguese intelligence surveillance for years by the Intelligence and Security Services (SIS), according to the aforementioned weekly newspaper, citing sources from the government and the Assembly of the Republic.
Source: La Verdad
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