#rusich

Putin's dependence on mercenaries may be biting him on the ass once again. This comes as Ukraine punched through Russia's first layer of defenses in the south.

At the end of August, Ukraine declared it had finally managed to pierce Russia’s first line of defence after retaking the small village of Robotyne in Ukraine’s south. This key advance coincided with a Russian mercenary group’s threat to stop fighting on Russia’s behalf on the front lines of the village and could be a sign of more anti-Kremlin sentiment brewing among those fighting for Moscow. Although the tiny village, which had a pre-war population of fewer than 500 people, may be of little importance in itself, it lies along a strategic road that leads to the Russian-occupied road and railway hub of Tokmak. From there, another road leads to the key city of Melitopol, which, prior to Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, was known to Ukrainians as the “gateway” to the peninsula. Last week’s victory was therefore an important advance for Ukraine. Just a few days earlier, however, fighters from Rusich, a small Russian neo-Nazi paramilitary group stationed at Robotyne’s front line, had threatened to lay down their arms – a move that may have contributed to Russia’s stinging loss there.

Yes you read that correctly. Russia uses neo-Nazi paramilitary mercenaries. So much for Putin's discredited original rationale for his invasion – that he was fighting Nazis in Ukraine.

The official reason for the threat to lay down arms, Rusich explained in an August 25 statement on Telegram, was that one of the group’s top commanders and founding members, Yan Petrovsky, had been detained in Finland and faced extradition to Ukraine – and the Russian government was not doing much about it. Petrovsky, a dual Russian-Norwegian national, co-founded Rusich back in 2014 to take part in the Russian occupation of Donbas and is believed to have been a contractor for the Wagner Group at one point. He faces various terrorism-related charges in Ukraine and risks being sentenced to between 15 and 20 years in prison if he is extradited. In a series of messages screen-grabbed by the research project Antifascist Europe, Rusich members expressed frustration with their treatment by the Russian authorities.  “If the country cannot protect its citizens, why should the citizens protect the country?” asked one.

There is belated realization among fighters on the Russian side that conquering Ukraine just ain't gonna happen.

According to Jeff Hawn, a non-resident fellow at the Washington, DC-based think-tank New Lines Institute and an expert in Russian military matters, it would have been a credible scenario. [ ... ] “These guys are likely just looking for an excuse to get out,” he said. “They’re realising that Ukraine isn’t just going to break and give up.”

Somewhat related, a helicopter pilot named Maxim Kuzminov from the Russian Air Force (not a mercenary) defected to Ukraine with his Mi-8 helicopter. Ukrainian defense intelligence released a clip of Kuzminov explaining why he did what he did.

Πόλεμος στην Ουκρανία: Ποιοι είναι οι Ρώσοι νεοναζί μισθοφόροι της οργάνωσης «Rusich» που δρουν στη χώρα;

Η οργάνωση «Rusich» είναι μια παραστρατιωτική οργάνωση νεοναζί μισθοφόρων με στενές σχέσεις με την «Wagner» Οι παραστρατιωκοί Ρώσοι νεοναζί με το όνομα «Rusich» δρουν αυτόνομα μέσα στην Ουκρανία, στο πεδίο της μάχης και έχουν κατηγορηθεί για θηριωδίες, εν ψυχρώ δολοφονίες, ακρωτηριασμού και βιασμούς γυναικών, ενώ θεωρούνται εξαιρετικά βίαιοι. Η κίνηση που τους χαρακτηρίζει είναι μετά την μάχη να…