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☆ Russian soldiers were convicted of over 100 murders when they returned home last year, a report says
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-05 | by ( Rebecca Rommen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. Read previewRussian military personnel were convicted of 116 murders in 2023, Mediazona, a local news website, reported. Advertisement"The high number of homicides by serving and veteran Russian soldiers are likely in part due to enduring war-related chronic poor mental health issues," it wrote. "It is a story about invisible violence," said Kirill Titaev, a Russian sociologist and criminology expert at Yale, told the Times. Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin called the risk of pardoned convicts re-offending upon their release "inevitable," per the Times.

Persons: —, Olga Romanova, Storm Z, Wagner, ROMAN ROMOKHOV, Kirov, Viktor Savvinov, Kirill Titaev, Vladimir Putin, Putin Organizations: Service, UK Ministry of Defence, Judicial Department, Business, The New York Times, Wagner Group, Storm, Getty, New York Times, Yale, Times Locations: Mediazona, Ukraine, Russia, Russian, Rostov, AFP

☆ Russian assault forces varied wildly in the battle for Avdiivka, from well-trained to 'just confused,' Ukrainian soldiers say
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-04 | by ( Ella Sherman | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Ukrainian soldiers report inconsistent training and combat abilities in Russian troops. Despite the ineffectiveness of poorly trained troops, these waves can strain Ukrainian defenders. Advertisement"Russian forces likely used poorly trained personnel to carry out mass daily attacks on Ukrainian positions and employed trained personnel with better equipment to assault specific positions after exhausting Ukrainian forces," they said. ISW experts say it's also possible that Russia used "Storm" units, penal units made up of convicts, in Avdiivka. Given that these convicts are poorly trained for battle, experts have also noted they are usually ineffective and these units provide "marginal combat power."

Persons: —, Shultz, it's, Wagner, ISW, 3rd Brigade Mykola Zynkevych's Organizations: Service, Washington Post, 3rd Assault Brigade, National Security, Institute for, 2nd Assault Battalion, 3rd Brigade Locations: Avdiivka, Ukrainian, Russia

☆ Russian soldiers forced to rape each other says report alleging brutal violence on Ukraine frontline
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-25 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

download the appSign up to get the inside scoop on today’s biggest stories in markets, tech, and business — delivered daily. The outlet interviewed several Russian soldiers over three months, who described brutal conditions in which troops recruited from Russia's prisons bully and abuse mobilized soldiers while commanders remain stationed safely away from the front. AdvertisementHandcuffed to trees"It's hell here," another Russian soldier said. Verstka also published a video appearing to show an unidentified soldier being tied to a tree. Ukraine has said that Storm Z shows extremely low combat capability, according to a press release translated by Pravada .

Persons: —, Verstka, Misha Maltsev, Semyon Kiskorov, Kiskorov, Maltsev, Kirill Kudryavtsev, Pravada Organizations: Service, Business, Getty, Storm, Main Intelligence, Ministry of Defense Locations: Ukraine, Krynky, Dnipro, Yuzhno, Sakhalinsk, Russia, AFP

☆ Russian forces push into Ukraine’s Avdiivka, piling pressure on new army chief
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-10 | by ( Andrew Carey | Maria Kostenko | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

Avdiivka, to the northwest of Donetsk city, remains the scene of some of the heaviest fighting as Russian forces continue their push from the north into the center of town. Even so, the DeepState mapping site suggests Russian forces are perhaps no more than several hundred meters away from the main supply route into town. Serhii Tsekhotskyi, an officer with the 59th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade, told Ukrainian television that Russia was deploying large numbers of troop into the battle for Avdiivka. Lying just a few kilometers north of Donetsk airport, captured by Russian forces in early 2015 after months of periodically heavy fighting, Avdiivka has been firmly in Moscow’s crosshairs ever since. East of Kupiansk and the Oskil river, along the northernmost stretch of the battle, an army spokesman told Ukrainian television on Saturday that Russian forces were pressing.

Persons: Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, Serhii, “, ”, Boris Rozhin, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, Moscow’s crosshairs, Volodymyr Zelensky, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Syrskyi, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Chasiv Yar Organizations: CNN, Russian, Motorized Infantry Brigade, Avdiivka, Presidential Press Service, Reuters, Land Forces, Storm Locations: Ukraine, Kyiv, Donetsk, Russia, Avdiivka, Kharkiv, Ukrainian, Kupiansk, Bakhmut

☆ 2 Russians convicted of murdering and eating victims have been released after fighting in Ukraine: reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Two men convicted of murder were released after fighting in Ukraine, per Russian media. AdvertisementRussia released two prisoners convicted of murder, who then ate parts of their victims, after they fought in Ukraine, according to multiple Russian reports. He's now recovering from moderate injuries at a military hospital in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, his neighbor Dmitry told Russian news outlet Siberia Realities . "He's basically free, pardoned, and half his [prison] sentence has been wiped out," Dmitry told the outlet, according to a translation by Ukrainska Pravda . AdvertisementOgolobya stabbed two other victims to death, penetrating their bodies 666 times and counting the blows out loud, witnesses said.

Persons: Denis Gorin, Nikolai Ogolobyak, —, Meduza, He's, Dmitry, Ukrainska, Ogolobyak, Ogolobya, Wagner, Marx Organizations: Service, Ukrainska Pravda, Storm, Moscow Times Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Russia's Sakhalin, Sakhalin, Yuzhno, Russian, Siberia, Russia's Yaroslavl

☆ Drug-abusing Russian soldiers get sent to fight with Storm Z assault forces as punishment, intel says, putting them on the front lines with convicts
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-13 | by ( Natalie Musumeci | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

UK intelligence said Russian commanders are likely punishing drug-abusing soldiers. The commanders are apparently tossing the soldiers in so-called "Storm Z assault detachments." A Russian news outlet previously reported that soldiers were getting hard drugs delivered to them on the front lines. One unnamed soldier told the independent Russian outlet at the time: "It's like in Las Vegas." The units these drug-using soldiers fight in are mostly made up of convicts and are thrown onto the frontlines, according to analysts from the Institute for the Study of War.

Persons: —, Verstka Organizations: Service, UK's Ministry of Defense, Institute for Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Las Vegas

☆ Russia is promising prisoners a $31,000 payout if they get injured, soldier says. It's likelier than they realize.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-26 | by ( Mia Jankowicz | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

download the app Email address Sign up By clicking “Sign Up”, you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy . AdvertisementAdvertisementRussia is paying convicts as much as $2,000 a month if they fight in Ukraine, with a promise $31,000 if they are injured, a soldier said. The remarks were made by a Russian "Storm Z" soldier — the unofficial designation for units often made of formerly incarcerated fighters. But, it said, in reality they are staffed by Russia's worst soldiers — convicts and regular soldiers marked for punishment. The BBC also reported that the units are formed mostly of convict soldiers, or soldiers re-assigned there as a punishment.

Persons: —, dory, Vsevolod Vukolov, Olga Romanova Organizations: Wagner, Service, Sever, UK's Ministry of Defence, BBC, Storm, Team, Reuters, Wagner Group, Washington Locations: Russia, Ukraine, Russian

☆ Russia tried to field an elite series of 'storm' units but ended up stuffing them with convicts instead, UK intel says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Sinéad Baker | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The UK MOD said Russia tried to create elite "storm" units in Ukraine, but they were largely ineffective. The UK update said the debacle showed how Russia was struggling to field effective fighters. AdvertisementAdvertisementRussia tried to build up its "Storm Z" units as an elite fighting force but instead pivoted to stuffing them with convicts and other low-quality fighters, UK intelligence said. Fighters in the units and people with knowledge of them told Reuters this month that soldiers in storm units were seen as disposable. "Storm fighters, they're just meat," he told Reuters, adding that he disobeyed the instruction not to help them.

Persons: —, Russia's Organizations: MOD, Service, UK Ministry of Defence, Reuters, Institute for, Fighters Locations: Russia, Ukraine

☆ Russian soldiers who drink and break rules get sent to punishment battalions where they are likely to die fighting, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-03 | by ( Sophia Ankel | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

These "Storm Z" units have been sent to where the heaviest fighting is. AdvertisementAdvertisementReuters interviewed 13 people as part of the investigation, five of whom were Storm Z fighters. Reuters found that soldiers are sent to Storm Z for being drunk on duty, for using drugs, or for refusing to carry out orders. Relatives of a missing Storm soldier fighting in Ukraine told Reuters that Russia's Defense Ministry never responded when they asked where he was. AdvertisementAdvertisementIn the summer, some Storm fighters said in a video that they refused to carry out combat missions due to their treatment.

Persons: —, Storm, Storm Z, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Serhii, we've Organizations: Reuters, Service, Storm, Wagner Group, Russian Ministry of Defence, The, Pravda, Russia's Defense, Russia's Ministry of Defense Locations: Russian, Bakhmut, Ukraine, Ukrainian

☆ Russia is manning its defensive line with 'poor-quality' troops, report says, and only switching in competent ones after Ukraine attacks
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Tom Porter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

But she said that when Ukrainian units move in to take trenches, Russia deploys elite units to counterattack and retake them. "'Storm-Z' detachments are often combat ineffective and will likely provide the Russian defense in western Zaporizhzhia Oblast with marginal combat power," it noted. Ukraine's strategy appears to be to probe Russian defenses at several points on the front line simultaneously, forcing Russia to divert its most effective units. Russian defenses near Bakhmut, east Ukraine, also came under severe pressure from Ukrainian attacks this week. AdvertisementAdvertisementIn the south, Ukraine is attempting to breach Russian defensive positions and retake the city of Melitopol, a Russian logistics hub, severing Russia's land bridge to the occupied Crimean peninsula.

Persons: Olena Ivanenko, Ivanenko, Russia's, — Organizations: Wall, Service, Wall Street, for Locations: Russia, Ukrainian, Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Zaporizhzhia, Russian, Robotyne, Bakhmut, Melitopol, Crimean

☆ Texas Sent Migrants Into California’s Storm Emergency, Aid Groups Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Somini Sengupta | More About Somini Sengupta | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

Texas has shipped out the latest busload of migrants who had crossed the border from Mexico, this time sending them into Los Angeles as it was struggling to keep residents safe from Tropical Storm Hilary. The busload of 37 migrants left the border city of Brownsville at 5 p.m. on Sunday, just as Southern California and much of the surrounding area was in a state of emergency, according to a coalition of advocacy groups that received them. The largest group of people on the bus were from Venezuela, with the rest from Guatemala, Mexico, Belize, Honduras and Ecuador. Also in the group were 15 children, including a 3-week-old baby. Lindsay Toczylowski, executive director of the Immigrant Defenders Law Center, an aid groups that supports asylum seekers, called the Texas officials’ decision to send them into a storm zone “reckless.”

Persons: Hilary, Lindsay Toczylowski Organizations: Texas, Immigrant Defenders Law Center Locations: Mexico, Los Angeles, Brownsville, Southern California, Venezuela, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, Ecuador, Texas

☆ Russia's army has learned to plug its frontline defenses in Ukraine with convicts, marines, and special-ops troops
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-06 | by ( Michael Peck | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

The Russian military has spent months digging in and fortifying its positions in eastern and southern Ukraine. Russian marines during combined exercises with Ukraine's military near Sevastopol in May 2011. "In many cases when they counterattack, this is fundamentally a battle of tree lines," Lee said of Ukraine's advance. "If Ukrainian forces advance and take a tree line, Russian armor moves out and begins to engage that entire tree line at the range of a couple of kilometers. Russian "units are fighting," Lee said.

Persons: Rob Lee, Lee, they've, Stringer Russia, Wojciech Grzedzinski, Putin, Ukraine didn't, we've, They're, Michael Peck Organizations: Service, Russian Army, Foreign Policy Research Institute, Storm, REUTERS, Naval, Anadolu Agency, Getty, Kharkiv, Defense, Foreign Policy, Twitter, LinkedIn Locations: Russia, Wall, Silicon, Ukraine, Russian, Sevastopol, Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainian, Kharkiv, Forbes

At one point, Russian officials even claimed to have kicked Ukrainian forces back out of the village, which Ukraine staunchly denied. “That’s the hardest part.”Images from drone footage show the extensive damage to Staromayorske, Ukraine. Ukraine’s position is made harder still given Russian forces are on the eastern side of the river, able to use its natural boundary from which they can fire artillery. The wall graffiti is equally bleak: “There is no love.” “God is for Russia.” “Welcome to Mordor.”It is a nihilism that only amplifies a key question Ukrainian forces have: Why do the Russian troops fight so hard for these tiny settlements? The fact that Russian forces fight so persistently for each settlement has raised doubts about claims that Russia’s defensive line is fierce but thin.

Persons: Ukraine’s, Krivyh Rih, ” Krivbas, ’ Krivbas, Neskuchne, Krivbas, ”, ‘, haven’t, Reva, deminer Organizations: Ukraine CNN, Ukrainian, Ukraine, Staromayorske, Marines, CNN, Pentagon, ‘, Russian, Storm, AK Locations: Neskuchne, Ukraine, Staromayorske, Mariupol, Krivyh, Russian, “, Russia, Mordor

☆ Ukraine's counteroffensive is facing off against Wagner's successor group, Storm Z, on the outskirts of Bakhmut
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Chris Panella | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ukraine's counteroffensive is running into Wagner's successor group, Storm Z, in Bakhmut. The group is mostly conscripts, reservists, and convicts, The Washington Post said. Storm Z, however, doesn't consist of mercenaries like Wagner, which defined itself with a culture of extreme violence. Ukraine has said that Storm Z shows extremely low combat capability, according to a press release translated by Pravada. Wagner troops declared victory in Bakhmut — a once-bustling city now a ghost town left in ruins — in May.

Persons: Storm Z, Wagner, Pravada, Bakhmut —, Yevgeny Prigozhin's Organizations: Washington Post, Service, Ukraine, Storm, Wagner Group, Main Intelligence, Ministry of Defense, Russian Locations: Bakhmut, Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Russian, —, Russia

☆ Wagner Group leader and ex-convict Prigozhin has lost the respect of Russian prisoners who now think he's a 'traitor,' activist says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-09 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Russian prisoners have now turned on the Wagner Group leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, an activist said. Prigozhin, an ex-convict, was once popular among prisoners and recruited thousands to fight in Ukraine. SOme prisoners rioted in support of his short-lived mutiny and were disappointed he called it off. Olga Romanova, the head of the Russia Behind Bars prisoners' rights group, said that prisoners feel "depressed" and "apathetic" and view Yevgeny Prigozhin as a traitor. The Wagner Group recruited thousands of prisoners to fight in Ukraine in exchange for freedom after completing their service.

Persons: Yevgeny Prigozhin, Prigozhin, Olga Romanova, Romanova, Wagner, mutinying Wagner Organizations: Wagner Group, Service, Russian, Reuters, Russian Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Defense Locations: Ukraine, Wall, Silicon, Russia, Moscow, Belarus, Rostov, Leningrad

“We were jumping like rabbits under mortar rounds and bombs.”When it got quieter, he and fellow soldier Slava fell asleep. In the presence of two Ukrainian soldiers, the three men described low morale in their trenches, disarray and the apparent expendability of some Russian forces. Mark Phillips/CNNHopes of exchangeThe men’s captors want them exchanged for Ukrainian soldiers held by the Russians, but they don’t have high hopes. When he saw the Ukrainian soldiers, he crawled away in fear and huddled with two soldiers. A Ukrainian soldier later explains that it’s difficult to hear what the Russian soldiers are saying during the gunfights.

Persons: ” Anton, “, Slava, let’s, ”, Anton, sobs, Mark Phillips, Storm Z, Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, maiming, Volodymyr Zelensky, Sergei, ‘, ’, CNN “, ” Sergei, ” Slava Organizations: Eastern, Eastern Ukraine CNN, CNN, Ukrainian Third Assault Brigade, International Committee, Russian Ministry of Defense, “, Third Assault Brigade, Wagner PMC, Storm Z, Brigade, Ukrainian Armed Forces Locations: Eastern Ukraine, Russian, Bakhmut, “, Ukrainian, Ukraine, Russia, ”, Mariupol, Moscow, Kherson

☆ ‘Dig, Dig, Dig’: A Russian Soldier’s Story
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Thomas Gibbons-Neff | Natalia Yermak | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +8 min

The Russian soldier was captured only days after arriving on the front line in eastern Ukraine. It takes into account the International Committee of the Red Cross’s guidance regarding publishing information about prisoners of war. After two months in prison, a man in a “green suit” from the Russian Ministry of Defense arrived, looking for recruits. They were just forced to dig, dig, dig, dig, and that was it. We were looking for a place to dig somewhere.”Merk said that when the Ukrainian attack began, there were nine soldiers digging alongside him.

Persons: Merk, “, Wagner, ’, ” Merk, ‘, ‘ You’re, Oleg Matsnev, Riley Mellen, Dmitriy Khavin, Anatoly Kurmanaev Organizations: New York Times, Kremlin, Times, United Nations, Storm, Committee, Russian Ministry of Defense, Defense Service Locations: Russian, Ukraine, Bakhmut, Ukrainian, Kramatorsk, ’

☆ A Russian inmate thought he was signing up to become an army construction worker. Then he was sent into battle on the frontlines.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Sonam Sheth | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A Russian inmate told NYT he thought he was going to become an army construction worker when he signed up for Russia's armed forces. Instead, he was sent into battle on the frontlines in eastern Ukraine shortly after being recruited. He told NYT he felt he was "heading for death" as soon as he got to eastern Ukraine. Instead, he was sent into battle in eastern Ukraine. Five days after arriving on the frontlines, he was captured by Ukrainian forces near Bakhmut.

Persons: —, Merk, Storm Z, Vladimir Putin, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagner, Putin Organizations: Service, The New York Times, Times, Russia's Ministry of Defense, The Times, Storm, Ukrainian, Prigozhin's Locations: Ukraine, Ukrainian, Bakhmut, Russian, Moscow

☆ Ukraine reclaimed an occupied village during its counteroffensive with far fewer troops than Russia, The New York Times reports
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-02 | by ( Lloyd Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

NYT reported that one village, Neskuchne, was liberated with roughly 70 Ukrainian troops. According to the Times, Russia also has a contingent of troops known as the Storm Z unit that consists of former inmates. Ukrainian soldiers told the newspaper that reclaiming the village was a slow and painstaking process. According to the Times, Ukrainian soldiers first moved in on Neskuchne by foot before carrying out an artillery attack with small drones. More than a dozen Russian soldiers were killed and wounded, and six Ukrainian soldiers died, according to the report.

Persons: —, Mark Milley, Russia's, Hanna Malyar Organizations: Service, Ukraine, New York Times, US, Chiefs, Staff, 129th Territorial Defense Brigade, Motorized Rifle Brigade, Times, Storm, 129th, Institute for Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Neskuchne, Donetsk, Moscow, Russian

☆ A top Ukrainian commander fighting around Bakhmut says military experts who portray Russian soldiers as 'stupid and miserable' are wrong
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Andriy Biletsky, of the 3rd Separate Assault Brigade, said Russian soldiers were not "stupid." Zelenskyy's office later made it clear that he had not meant that the city had fallen to Russian troops, the BBC reported. Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade in actionHelmet camera footage of Ukrainian fighters on the frontlines. @11Knuk123 Twitter screenshotMeanwhile, Ukraine said it had made advances on the flanks around Bakhmut, where Biletsky's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade has seen action. The British Ministry of Defence announced additional Russian troops had likely been deployed to Bakhmut to fight against Kyiv's advances.

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