Russian troops slam command over 300 killed in “incomprehensible battle”

CNN reported on the situation.

The men of the 155th Brigade of the Russian Pacific Fleet wrote an open letter to the Governor of the Primorsky Krai Oleg Kozhemiako. In the letter, the soldiers stationed in the Ugledarsky direction complain about personnel and equipment losses. They also accused the authorities of using them as "cannon fodder".

“As a result of the ‘carefully’ planned offensive by the ‘great commanders’ we lost about 300 men, dead and wounded, with some MIA over the past four days. We lost 50% of our equipment. That’s our brigade alone. The district command together with Akhmedov are hiding these facts and skewing the official casualty statistics for fear of being held accountable,” the translated letter reads.

The military asked the governor “For how long will such mediocrities as Muradov and Akhmedov be allowed to continue to plan the military actions just to keep up appearances and gain awards at the cost of so many people’s lives?”

CNN reporters also publish feedback from Russian military commentators on the news of the 155th brigade letter.

“Troops say that there is a dilemma now: exhausted units cannot be withdrawn without fresh ones being brought in. There are no fresh units and no possibility of withdrawal and replacement due the constant firing,” CNN cites Russian military journalist Alexey Sukonkin on Telegram.

“Why did we retreat from Pavlivka and have to recapture it now? The defenders of Pavlivka will again be taken hostage. Supplies and rotations will be difficult, it will be impossible to move through Pavlivka,” Aleksander Khodakovsky, a Russian-backed commander from the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic said, as reported by CNN.

The Ministry of Defense of Russia, in turn, denied reports about high personnel and equipment losses.

“Russia’s losses in the area of Vuhledar and Pavlivka in the Donetsk region “do not exceed 1% of the combat strength and 7% of the wounded, a significant part of whom have already returned to duty,” CNN cited Russian MoD response.