Given the pell mell retreat from Kyiv
This is false. The retreat was surprisingly orderly, not much useful equipment was left behind and from my knowledge, no soldiers were killed or captured in this withdrawal. It's probably been one of the highlights of the Russian campaign in the North of the country, in general, not that there are many to begin with.
Not a retreat, just phase 2.
The largely quantities of masses of abandoned equipment and the atrocities are a matter of record for anyone but Russian propagandists and those who believe them. There are so many recording where vehicles with crews of at least three were struck and no evidence of evacuation. However the main point about the loss per vehicle is to highlight the incredible claims about Russian losses the Russian MoD makes. Some of the Moskva sailors lost are now classed as AWOL and apparently the ship was not taking part in the 'special operation' when lost. The efforts of some of the next of kin to get answers appears the reason for this slight. The initial operation was laughable with a vast confusion of vehicles and men of three sides of Kyiv, with similar at Cherniv and Sumy, VDV getting stuck in lifts or being left as garrison troops in Hostomel airport. That supposedly elite operation was defeated by the most improvised forces Kyiv had. Overdosing on copium isn't wise. The sheer inability of Russian troops to deal effectively with ambushes is well known.
Firing of Russian artillery to destroy vast urban areas, a blanket bombing from the ground, is the main Russian tactic. It was a characteristic of the second Chechen War, the Russian effort in Syria where urban areas where the Russian forces under Dvornikov battered cities until their populace could take no more, and now in Ukraine. This has to be contrasted with Ukrainian operations into Russia which resulted in few to almost no civilian casualties. Russia keeps launching precisely scheduled wave attacks which makes almost no progress, and there are reported loss of ground around Kharkiv and Kherson.
Aside from Kherson, Russia hasn't taken a single large urban area in this war. Mariupol is still contested, and utterly wrecked.
The weaknesses of Russian communications and command coordination is well known. Operations with little or no coordination was the story of Russian military operations in the north. Use of Chinese made Baofeng civilian walkie talkies has been claimed by Ukrainians, but while not confirmed, the poor performance around Kyiv, Cherniv, Sumy, where VDV troopers were lost while assets that could have supported them were close by, and armor was repeatedly sent into urban areas unsupported. Convoys without escort were possible in Syria, but ambush has a rich source of success for Ukrainian troops and foreign contingents like the battle hardened Georgian Legion. Sputnik, RIA Novosti and Tass might Russia troops have the best possible communication gear, but we have a reality of the present disaster. The partly Chinese made
R-187P1 Azart is supposed to provide Russian troops with secure comms, but it has had severe issues and there are notable doubts about how many units have access to them. Its manufacturer has been investigated for the usual embezzlement.
Early doubts about Russian comms have been borne out by repeated operations where expensively trained troops and some very expensive equipment was squandered by a failure to use vehicles and soldiers mouldering nearby. Incredibly some troops are relying on mobile phones for communication despite them being meant, wisely, to be left behind or confiscated if found.
Ukrainian intelligence can be contrasted to Russian efforts where an assassination squad brought a copy of the Sims rather than sim cards. Not sending their best. This claimed intercept with 25k losses has more credibility than the tiny numbers Peskov asserts have been lost. Many claims are propagandistic, but what matters is results, and Russia has not been shown results.
It's all a bit like how the Argentine junta kept claiming success after success in the Falklands War, and the response when the reality became clear was popular rage. I suspect a good many more recruitment offices (which hold local records of those liable for service), beyond the present one, will be torched, and munition works sabotaged.
By the by, found this
funny Russian propaganda where Moslem migration to Europe is attacked, the masculinity of European men attacked, but Russia has a vast level of migration from almost wholly Moslem Central Asia (many bewildered migrants have been taken as prisoner) which adds to an already large native Moslem population.
