Support The Moscow Times!

Elite Russian Marine Unit Slams Military Leaders for ‘Baffling’ Battle Losses

Russian military in Ukraine. Russian Defense Ministry / TASS

An elite Russian naval infantry unit has blasted its superiors’ decision-making after suffering massive losses in what its members called a “baffling” assault on an eastern Ukrainian village, pro-war reporters said Sunday.

Russian forces launched an offensive on the Ukrainian garrison in Pavlivka southwest of Donetsk on Nov. 2 to seize control of a key supply route, the Ukrainian military and pro-Russian officials have said.

Four days later, the 155th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade blamed its military leaders for the loss of 300 men in a letter to the governor of their home region in the Far East.

“We were thrown into a baffling offensive,” the letter was quoted as saying by pro-war blogger Anastasia Kashevarova and the Grey Zone Telegram channel. 

State media war correspondent Alexander Sladkov disclosed the existence of the letter without directly quoting it.

The marines from the Primorye region city of Vladivostok accused their immediate commander and the head of Russia’s Eastern Military District of forcing an advance on Pavlivka, despite their strategic disadvantage, “for the sake of their reports and awards.”

“We lost about 300 men killed, wounded and missing in four days as a result of a ‘carefully’ planned offensive by the ‘great commanders’,” the letter said.

Military analyst Rob Lee, quoting Russian war correspondent Alexei Sukonkin, said Friday that 63 brigade members had been killed in two days — more Russian naval infantrymen killed than during the entire first Chechen war in the mid-1990s.

“The district command together with [the brigade commander] are hiding this… for fear of accountability,” the letter circulated Sunday said. “They don’t care about anything other than showing off. They call people meat [cannon fodder].”

Accusing their leaders of enjoying protection from Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, the letter’s authors asked Primorye region Governor Oleg Kozhemyako to send an independent commission to inspect the feasibility of the Pavlivka campaign. 

Kozhemyako on Monday ordered a probe of the complaint for possible “disinformation” from Ukrainian intelligence services.

Russia’s Defense Ministry issued a statement later Monday denying the brigade’s claims, saying its losses did not exceed 1% of those killed and 7% wounded.

It further claimed that Ukrainian forces suffered between seven to nine times the losses compared with the 115th brigade.

The ministry also maintained that the elite unit has been “effective” in seizing 5 kilometers of land in 10 days and will continue “until combat tasks are fully complete.”

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more