A once-feared Russian brigade was decimated by the Ukraine war. Its bloody fate is emblematic of Putin’s derailed invasion plans.
FebruaryWithdraws from Ukraine to regroup in Valyuki.200th units routed in Kupiansk as Ukrainian200th combat position in Arapivka, Luhansk.
The brigade was also hobbled by problems that plagued other Russian units. It was low on food and fuel after consuming or selling critical stores in the weeks leading up to the invasion, officials said. Putin’s decision to keep even senior advisers in the dark left commanders scant time to prepare troops, let alone coordinate attack plans with other units.
One official described the damage that such losses would have done to the unit’s effectiveness and morale as “catastrophic.” could not be reached for comment. On Wednesday, a woman identifying herself as his wife answered a number associated with Kurilo. She said he had not served with the 200th for about half a year, a period that would correspond with the start of his hospitalization. She said he has since been transferred to another military unit and is unreachable.
“They just did new bookkeeping,” Toveri said, adding that doing so would be consistent with a Russian military culture seen as more calloused than its Western counterparts about casualties. “They had been at war for three months and don’t mention any killed in action,” Toveri said. “Let bygones be bygones.
After a series of inconclusive exchanges, Shevchenko said, he convinced Ukrainian artillery units to hold their fire for several days, hoping to create the impression they were low on ammunition as quadcopter drones were used to get a clearer fix on Russian positions.Amid the lull, surveillance images showed 200th troops letting down their guard.
Attached to the elite Northern Fleet, 200th troops get special gear and training for Arctic conditions and are often first in line for Russia’s most advanced equipment. In 2017, the brigade was the first in Russia’s armed services to receive new T-80BVM tanks rolling off assembly lines. “This is how ensigns and officers of the Russian army live!” the warrant officer, Mikhail Balenko, said on the video, describing the compound with an expletive. “The brigade commander does not even come here. He doesn’t care how his subordinates live.”
By the end of that battle, dozens of Russian troops had been killed or wounded and 12 tanks had been destroyed, Oleksandr said, adding that additional intercepts indicated that numerous soldiers had at one point or another refused to use their weapons.The brigade documents also hint at inner turmoil. One set of files lists criminal referrals made to Russian military prosecutors regarding four 200th soldiers — a senior lieutenant, two corporals and a private.
whose parents were serving in Ukraine or had been killed or wounded, and announced that 1,274 students qualified.The 200th’s involvement in the siege of Kharkiv concluded in September when it was routed near Kupiansk in the Ukrainian offensive, said Col. Pavlo Fedosenko, commander of Ukraine’s 92nd Mechanized Brigade, the unit that delivered the blow and has faced off against the 200th more than any other.
Western security officials provided similar assessments. Because so many of its contract soldiers and senior members of its officer cadre were lost, “it will take years to rebuild the 200th,” said a senior European intelligence official. At least 20 of the 200th’s troops were wounded in recent skirmishes in Luhansk, the Ukrainian intelligence official said. A fact sheet provided by the official lists the wounded soldiers’ names and birth dates; their ages range from the low 20s to the early 50s.Contacted by The Post, one of those soldiers acknowledged that he was at home recuperating, but declined to discuss his deployment or injuries in detail. He described himself as “a civilian person. I have a family, kids.
Ireland Latest News, Ireland Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Ukraine live briefing: U.S. plans to provide smart bomb kits, Patriot missiles to UkraineThe United States plans to send Ukraine advanced “smart bomb” equipment that would allow it to target Russian military positions with better accuracy, senior U.S. officials said.
Read more »
Russia-Ukraine live updates: Pentagon preparing to send Patriot missiles to UkraineUkrainian police officers bravely venture into a frozen lake to save a woman and her dog who were trapped on thin ice.
Read more »
Russia-Ukraine war live updates: ‘Massive’ missile attacks reported across Ukraine, residential building hitExplosions and missile strikes were reported across Ukraine early Friday, including in the capital Kyiv.
Read more »
Russia-Ukraine live updates: Russia launches new wave of missile strikes on Ukraine📸 Civilians take shelter inside a metro station during an air raid alert in the centre of Kyiv. A fresh barrage of Russian strikes hit cities across Ukraine Friday, cutting water and electricity in major cities.
Read more »
Ukraine war live updates: Fresh wave of Russian missile attacks rocks countryA new wave of Russian missile attacks hit the capital Kyiv and the wider country on Friday morning.
Read more »