Russia's humiliation as own military officers reveal the country is failing

On August 5, the Express reported that a former Russian colonel believes the country’s war effort is failing. The very next day, on August 6, a top Russian general seemed to confirm these claims as he accidentally announced the number of paratroopers who have been wounded since the Russia-Ukraine war began.

Who is this former Colonel?

The former Lieutenant Colonel Sergey Gulyaev served 2 years in Afghanistan with the 58th automobile brigade. In the year running up to the war against Ukraine, Gulyaev studied Russian military procurements and he made a shocking discovery: Russia was barely investing in new equipment despite preparing for a future war.

For the year 2021, the whole of the Russian army - so that’s the airforce, the infantry, and the navy - received only 421 pieces of new equipment. The Express puts this into perspective:

By way of comparison, when [Gulyaev] was serving in the Soviet army for the 45th Guards motorised division, its entire inventory of tanks was completely renewed twice during the course of several years.

Gulyaev still has friends serving in Ukraine who are keeping him up-to-date on their dire circumstances. One senior reconnaissance unit officer told him that he was given ten armoured vehicles for his soldiers but only half of them were road worthy. No repairs had been carried out, and his unit received no further deliveries or spare parts.

Since the invasion in February 2022, Russia has lost over 3,000 tanks and approximately 600 helicopters and fighter jets. And on 6 August, the commander of the Russian Airborne Forces accidentally revealed the number of paratroopers who have been wounded in Ukraine since the start of the war. So, how many? The answer: 8,500.

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How did this information get to the public?

The British Defense Ministry explained in a statement that General Colonel Mikhail Teplinsky recorded a video for Paratrooper's Day saying that 8,500 paratroopers returned to duty after being wounded and ‘refused to leave the front line’.

This ‘unsanctioned disclosure of the scope of the casualties the elite force has suffered in Ukraine’ was quickly deleted from the Russian MoD's official channels but seems to confirm Gulyaev’s assertions that things are not going well for Russia.

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What has Gulyaev said about Russia’s weakening military effort?

Gulyaev has blamed corruption among military bosses and political leaders for the army's lack of organisation and supplies. He told the Express that Valerii Zaluzhnyi, the Ukrainian army leader, is acting ‘10 times more intelligently’ than his Russian counterpart, Valery Gerasimov:

The huge numbers of casualties which are 10 times more than those sustained in Afghanistan tell you the Russian army is fighting like s***

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Sources used:

The Express: Russian colonel reveals army on verge of disaster with 50 percent of equipment unusable

United Press International:Russia accidentally reveals at least 8,500 paratroopers were wounded in Ukraine

The Kyiv Independent:UK Defense Ministry: Nearly half of Russian paratroopers deployed to Ukraine likely killed or wounded