- cross-posted to:
- news@beehaw.org
- cross-posted to:
- news@beehaw.org
Ukraine’s defence ministry has fired a top commander after photos emerged of a group of emaciated soldiers who have been left on the frontline for months without proper food and water.
The scandal erupted after the wife of one of the soldiers, Anastasiia Silchuk, posted the images on social media. The four men appeared to be pale and visibly malnourished, with prominent ribcages and thin arms.
The soldiers had spent eight months defending a shrinking bulge of territory on the left bank of the Oskil River, near the north-eastern Ukrainian city of Kupiansk, their relatives said. Supplies of food and medicines could only be flown in by drone.
“When the lads arrived at the frontlines, they weighed over 80–90kg. But now they weigh around 50kg,” Silchuk posted. After one delivery, she said, no more food turned up for 10 days. The soldiers were forced to drink rainwater and melt snow to survive.
“The longest they went without food was 17 days. They weren’t listened to on the radio, or perhaps no one wanted to listen to them. My husband shouted and begged, saying there was no food and water,” she said, adding that the problem was bigger than just one case.
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Now that Hungary is finally free from putins cock puppet and the EU loan is released, hopefully this sort of situation can be avoided.
I’m not super well versed on all of this in Ukraine, is there a reason this suggests that this was unavoidable before?
It waswas definitely avoidable but the situation for many soldiers in forward positions is tense at the best of times.
I am no expert on this but I believe the additional funds will not improve the situation for the grunts in the trenches significantly because the issue is not a lack of materials. Instead it’s the ubiquity of cheap kamikaze and spotter drones that makes logistics so difficult because any sizeable movement attracts an immediate response.
I think instead the funds will to a significant portion be spent on purchasing material that are actually in short supply like missile interceptors to bolster defense against Russian air threats beyond drones.
Right, do you have any sources on that I can check out?
I see, checked them out a bit. Kind of frustrating that it appears as though this is just someone who has worked in defense contracting and the sources they list are just typically news sites (which indicates to me they don’t have access to or do not use whatever scholarly access they would have if they have a degree related to this). So, they seem like more of a reporter who is aggregating news coverage with some public documentation.
I’m sure their videos can be informative, but I’m more curious about how this is argued and measured as many experts in these fields are pretty incapable of articulating how systemic, material, and social conditions facilitate instances like this and how reflective they are of individuals’ decisions or systemic dysfunction.
Perun approaches the topic from an economical and strategic viewpoint. And yes, he uses mostly open source information because it would be very unwise for his career to use any form of insider information he might possess. Though if you have a look around the channel you can also find some interviews with experts in specific fields. And also yes, if you are more interested in the day-to-day situation on the ground I’d recommend checking out other channels as well. It’s his stated goal to provide a top down view.
Oh, what I was talking about would still be a top down analysis, just one that is more informed and nuanced to create better explanations. Economic and political lenses exclusively tend to be distortive and only useful for people who subscribe to their preexisting explanations for things (and it doesn’t seem like this person is qualified to produce those beyond their individual experiences).
This is not a problem of funds. It’s been a choice made by the higher ups in the Ukrainian military. there have been countless times where it became evident that Ukrainian soldiers are being surrounded and the choices were either to retract them. or keep them in their position without food or ammunition until they get annihilated. And they choice was always to let them be encircled and let them fight to the last one. It’s been seen in Avdivka and many other cities
You mean this isn’t a kupiansk problem but it is generalized all along the ukrainian frontline?
Yeah. It started a long time before Kupiansk. especially when russia’s advances pickup steam 2024-2025. this year russia is struggling to advance. and even struggling to surround Kostiantinivka which is a key battle ground city. The situation is very confusing as to why the the frontline is frozen. Russia is either panicking or blindly following on plan’s made years in advance.
The Frontline is frozen because of drones and russia has no idea what it’s doing. It’s why they’ve been using meat ways for years.
A lot of that is the insane lethality and size of the front in this war. If someone is on the front, it’s 50km before you can begin to start feeling safe from drones. Are you going to amplify attrition on rescue missions that have a high chance of failure?
Some of the problem is that there’s been heavy incentives on destroying enemy equipment. An attacking drone unit has their eyes on what keeps their unit running and likely isn’t coordinating too heavily with a defense unit that’s been in a hole for months.
If they can gamify the recording of strikes for supplies, they could also put an increasing bounty on supplying units via drop the longer they’ve been without. The reinforcement/evac of troops in these positions is a tough nut to crack.
I sincerely doubt it. The EU has consistently dropped the ball on this, with or without Orban.
Avoided? All the EU loan will do is prolong this situation. Ukraine has absolutely no chance of winning that should be crystal clear after the previous hundred billion. More Ukrainians will be thrown into the meat grinder to meat the exact same fate as this man just to weaken Russia. Of which the oil is being unsanctioned so that both sides now have more money to throw conscripts into the meatgrinder. What a fantastic resolution.
What’s your solution then? Force Ukraine to surrender, so Russia can starve Ukrainians without them being able to shoot back?
Just stop giving Ukraine money so they have to come to an agreement. You’re talking as if the average Ukrainian concript wants to get sent to the frontline to die for a pointless war which will result in Ukraine losing anyway when Europe loses interest.
Unlike actual resistance fighters, Ukrainians don’t want to participate in the war.
An “agreement” under duress that includes territorial concessions. And the inhabitants of those territories will then promptly be genocided.
And then Russia will attack again when they’ve rearmed, to do the same to the rest of Ukraine.
Amazing solution.
There is such a thing as security guarantees.
There is such a thing as security guarantees.
Which are completely useless when Russia frames territorial gains as a great victory and uses that as a propaganda tool to propel its minions into power in guarantor countries, like AfD, Reform, RN
Guarantees from russia? The only guarantee would be to dissolve russia once and for all.
Removed by mod
Useful idiot.
No u
Having a tendency to always read sentences in halves. I went straight into clicking the article, I was shocked at how very little remains on the bones of those men at was very disgusted at how Russia is torturing its prisoners.
I started reading the article from the bottom. and that testimony of the woman who said that since the news went public, her husband wrote wrote to her reassuring her that they have started receiving more food, this confused me cause since when did Ukrainian prisoners in Russia get to write back to their families.
I went up the article, and that’s when I truly was shocked to discover that these men were not uks prisoners in Russia but Ukrainian combatants in the front line who haven’t eaten for 17 days. I can’t even imagine going for 5 days without food let alone 17 days. and that this is all done to them by their own commanders forcing them to defend slivers of land with zero regard to their condition. contrast that with the hundred of thousands of young Ukrainian men who fled the country because they had the means to bribe to escape. I don’t blame those who are doing their best to dodge the draft in such an unfair regime.
I wonder why Ukraine can’t easily get supplies to the frontline.
Could there possibly be a larger imperialist neighbour trying to kill them???
No! It’s the people who don’t want their country invaded who are wrong!
There’s more to the story than that if you read more of it. Russia was intercepting their methods to feed the men. They are also trying to be very cautious of giving away position
Which is not to excuse the situation, but nothing is straight bad and straight good. War is shit. And furthermore I wouldn’t call this a ‘fix’.
The men are still uncertain that their food line will not jsut get interrupted by Russia again. So even they are aware this isn’t a ‘fix’.
It’s just PR.
The fix would be if the war ended. And even then it’s a very very Far cry from all the damage that has already been done to call that a fix.
I suspected something like this especially when it mentioned the food coming in on drones. Its like any other war were a group of soldiers are isolated but still able to defend or hold the territory.
I truly was shocked to discover that these men were not uks prisoners in Russia but Ukrainian combatants in the front line who haven’t eaten for 17 days.
Really? Ukrainian army is so unbelievably corrupt, as long as you can’t cough up +2000€ to bribe the officer you will just get sent to the slaughterhouse to get murdered bybsome drone, all for nothing.
Ukraine is seeing record numbers of desertion for a good reason, pretty much every house is probably hiding someone at this point. But I guess we’re all supposed to cheer and clap like a bunch of hungry seals.
I think you accidentially wrote Ukraine when bringing up this point about Russia?
These guys just can’t catch a break.
At the same time Ukrainian uh, recruiters, are running people over and throwing them off of roofs, and even pressuring other countries to repatriate their citizens abroad… all to send them to starve and die on the front. Not looking too good.
Yeah the Russians give out steak dinners every night?! Have you seen this, have you heard about this?
What does that have to do with this? I definitely don’t support press-ganging people into war no matter what, particularly just to send them into something as hopeless and catastrophic as this.
Many people suffer from (good vs evil) for them Ukraine is good and Russia is evil. Then they have a hard time believing the good guys can do anything wrong.
This is mostly clear when we see how it took Eroupe about 2 years of genocide to somewhat realize Israel is the bad guy, but then they got stuck because it is also clear USA is a bad guy.
If you step out of this narrow point of view, you can clearly see that, Ukraine has always been intended to be a buffer zone, the one who benefit from that are mostly military complex and contractors. They don’t care about human at all. That’s why these news are expected.
I understand. It’s very difficult for people to accept.
Yeah exactly which is why Russia doesn’t do that. I agree with you!
I don’t understand what you are even trying to say here. Do you mean that Russia also is kidnapping people off the streets and sending them against their will to starve on the front lines? Because I would also be against that, but it wouldn’t make it OK for Ukraine to do either. Let them fight who want to fight.
I’m saying they don’t do that! I’m being serious.
Well they are kidnapping kids and forcing them to become soldiers, if not necessarily the front lines to starve … but we can’t rule that out, either.
