1/2
The situation near Pokrovsk is extremely difficult-logistics are being disrupted, and there aren't enough personnel. Near Chasiv Yar, we are making slight advances, but the same problem persists: logistics are being hit, and manpower is lacking. In Toretsk, urban combat is ongoing, with the AFU launching counterattacks. Meanwhile, we continue feeding illusions to the command at all levels. The reality: no personnel, and logistics are being systematically targeted.
Why is there a shortage of personnel? Why does the enemy dominate the lower airspace, and why is their advantage only growing? They have aerial assets 24/7-drones, electronic warfare platforms, and relay systems that allow kamikaze UAVs to strike from 20 km away. Our capabilities, overall, are much more modest. Previously, the ratio of FPV drones was 1 to 6 in their favour; now, the gap has widened even further. And it's not just because we have fewer drones-though that is also true-but mainly because we have fewer operators. It's not that the state isn't doing anything; there are plenty of open training courses for various types of UAVs. But we personally know about 30 people who completed these courses and didn't deploy-they just kept moving from one course to another to avoid returning to the front lines.
Why? Because at the front, in some units, soldiers are treated like serfs.
There's no "For the Motherland, for Putin"-only "Get the f*** moving." They got their pay, didn't they? These men aren't defenders of the Motherland in any noble sense of the word. They're debt-ridden losers or unfortunate conscripts. That's why very few want to sign an indefinite contract with the Ministry of Defence.
2/2
Junior and mid-level commanders-experienced fighters who've been wounded multiple times-are under constant pressure from the enormous boot of the state: "Where's the result?" Even good men become hardened and stop listening to their subordinates. The AFU has the same issue, but drones are thejr lifeline.
Recently, we witnessed a discussion with people presenting their new developments:
•"Here's the device."
•"At what range is it effective?"
•"Well, it should be launched about 2 km from the front line."
They don't understand that at both 2 km and 5 km from the front, it's the edge of the world. Survival there depends entirely on extreme camouflage. There's almost no movement because enemy eyes are always in the sky, and their strike assets are at the ready. The slightest movement-and something is already flying your way.
Yesterday, we were hit by five drone attacks. We managed to shoot down two and evade three. But that was pure luck, and luck eventually runs out-just as it will for anyone trying to deliver water or ammunition to the front lines.
There probably won't be a ceasefire. And if that's the case, in our subjective opinion, the entire approach to motivation-and much more- needs to change. Otherwise, it will turn out just like in Astafyev's novel The Damned and the Dead. Instead, it should be: "You can do it, we believe in you, and we are proud of you"-not just for the cameras, but in real, tangible ways.