Russian soldiers are repeatedly complaining of inept leadership from military commanders in Ukraine's southern Kherson region, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Ukrainian forces have recently established several small but significant footholds on the east bank of the Dnieper River, which has been occupied by Moscow's forces for most of the war, now in its 22nd month. Despite repeated Russian counterattacks, Ukraine has been able to hold positions in the settlements of Krynky, Pishchanivka and Poyma.
While Moscow has attempted to downplay the significance of the development, Ukraine's progress in the region could pack consequential impact on the course of the war, especially as Kherson is just north of Crimea—a territory that Kyiv is hoping to recapture almost 10 years after it was illegally annexed by Russia.
ISW, a U.S.-based think tank, said in a report published on Sunday that Russian military bloggers have recently been receiving letters from soldiers complaining that incompetence from their commanders is now causing a "vulnerability" on the front lines near Krynky.
"A Russian milblogger claimed on November 26 that personnel of the Russian 70th Motorized Rifle Division (of the newly formed 18th Combined Arms Army) often write to him complaining about the vulnerability of Russian logistics in the east bank of Kherson Oblast near Krynky," the ISW report states.
"Russian milbloggers have repeatedly complained about Russian forces near Krynky suffering from problems, such as insufficient fire support, unit coordination, electronic warfare (EW), counterbattery, and air defense," it continues. "These reported problems do not always translate into significant battlefield effects."
The ISW report goes on to say that "Russian sources have continually claimed that Russian forces are unable to push Ukrainian forces out of Krynky," while also noting that "Ukrainian forces are currently unable to make operationally significant advances in the east bank area."
Newsweek reached out for comment to the Russian Ministry of Defense via email on Monday.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed last week that Moscow's troops had defeated all Ukrainian "amphibious operations in the Kherson direction," inflicting "colossal" losses on Ukrainian forces along the east bank of the Dnieper River.
In a video released last week, a group of purported Russian soldiers stationed in Krynky accused their commander of attempting to "hide his tracks" regarding military failures in the region by getting 50 troops killed in a high-risk mission.
The troops are shown begging Shoigu to grant them time off in the video, claiming that they had been deployed to the settlement months earlier without adequate equipment or ammunition.
"We were deployed without ammo," one of the soldiers says, according to WarTranslated. "Some didn't have armor ... we should be withdrawn after four months to rest."
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she ... Read more
