According to The Daily Beast, invading Russian forces in Ukraine are apparently “turning on each other” as plans associated with Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s devastating incursion into the country implode. In a recorded phone conversation involving a pair of Russian soldiers, one of the duo complained about operations in a particular region of Ukraine: “Basically, it’s a shitshow here, I’ll put it that way.” The Russian soldier making these comments was apparently around the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, and the conversation was released this week by Ukraine’s Security Service. The soldier also said, among other revelations of the chaos inside Putin’s forces in Ukraine, that leaders “don’t plan to” facilitate field hospital treatment for personnel suffering from frostbite.
⚡️Ukraine's FM Dmytro Kuleba calls on global consumers to boycott Auchan, Alcampo, Leroy Merlin, Decathlon.
He accused the French companies of “making a conscious choice to further sponsor Russian atrocities in Ukraine” over their decision to continue doing business in Russia.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 26, 2022
The soldier also stated that Lieutenant-General Yakov Rezantsev had previously insisted to soldiers there that their efforts would soon conclude. As the soldier put it, “Do you know what he told us? ‘It’s no secret to anyone that there are only a few hours until this special operation is over.’ And now those hours are still going.” Rezantsev was recently reported to have died in the war. Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said the commander of the 49th Russian Southern District Army, General Yakov Ryazantsev (as his name is also apparently spelled), was killed around Chornobayivka, which is in the Kherson region. Meanwhile, the Russian soldier speaking on that call intercepted by Ukrainian security personnel “said soldiers are complaining about having Kevlar vests that lack the hard-armor panel, but they are ignored,” as The Daily Beast summarizes. According to the soldier, a military leader presented with problems suffered by personnel “just says, ‘Son, be strong,’ and then he fucks off. It’s such trash here… our own plane dropped a bomb on us.”
⚡️Russian shelling leaves Kyiv’s western Sviatoshynskyi District without electricity.
Two power lines have been cut off by shelling in the suburbs, according to the city council. Water pressure might drop, too.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 26, 2022
That’s right — according to that soldier, a Russian plane bombed one of Russia’s positions. (Presumably, it was a mistake.) The soldier explained, “They couldn’t even send off the [dead bodies] here… They rode with us for five days… Even in Chechnya, there was nothing like this… This ‘special operation,’ damnit… with respect to homes not meant to be destroyed… it’s bullshit.” And in another instance, a Russian military commander was reportedly run over with a tank by one of the soldiers under his own command because of outrage over the losses sustained by their brigade.
⚡️Chernihiv mayor: City 'completely destroyed,' 200 civilians killed.
According to Vladyslav Atroshenko, “it is easier to count those buildings that have survived” in Chernihiv, a regional capital in northern Ukraine. More than half of the city’s 285,000 residents had left.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 26, 2022
The targeted commander was identified as Col. Yuri Medvedev, who survived the reported incident but apparently sustained serious injuries to his legs. Footage released by Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov, a Putin ally, depicted Medvedev being transported away from the battlefront for medical treatment. As Ukrainian journalist Roman Tsymbaliuk explained that incident: “Having waited for the right moment, during battle, [a soldier] ran over the commander with a tank as he stood next to him, injuring both his legs. Now Col. Medvedev is in a hospital in Belarus, waiting for monetary compensation for combat wounds received during the ‘special military operation to protect the Donbass.’ Colonel Medvedev was awarded the Order of Courage.” Russian invaders have reportedly lost multiple generals and over a dozen commanders amid the war in Ukraine, which has displaced millions of Ukrainians.
⚡️Russian forces damage Holocaust memorial outside Kharkiv.
The Ministry of Defense said that the Russian troops hit the memorial in Drobytsky Yar, a ravine where, according to different estimates, from 16,000-20,000 people, mostly Jews, were massacred by Nazi troops in 1941.
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) March 26, 2022
