Tuesday 17 May 2022 12:25 AM Putin the 'meddling colonel': Russian president is making tactical decisions ... trends now
Vladimir Putin is dictating on-the-ground troop movements in Ukraine as his army falters, according to Western military sources.
General Valery Gerasimov is also said to be making similar tactical decisions, micro-managing the war in minute detail which would normally be overseen by a colonel.
'We think Putin and Gerasimov are involved in tactical decision-making at a level we would normally expect to be taken by a colonel or a brigadier', said a Western military source, according to The Guardian.
The same source said that Russian battalion tactical groups (BTGs) had been 'battered', adding: 'If Putin is doing the job of a brigade commander' then 'he could be delving into a force that could be as small as 700 to 1,000 soldiers'.
Putin's soldiers have so far failed to achieve their military objectives in eastern Ukraine, where Russian forces have been attempting to mount a breakthrough in order to encircle Ukrainian troops in the Donbas region.
Officials believe Putin's decision to take personal control of on-the-ground troop movements could be contributing to the military failures.
Radio jamming has forced Moscow to send more battalion leaders to the front line in order to communicate with their troops, only for Ukrainians to take advantage by killing Russia's generals - with 12 confirmed dead.
The news comes after one of Putin's top propagandists has declared Russia's offensive in the Donbas region has failed as incredible pictures show the inside of the steel plant at Azovstal which has been under siege for much of the war.
Russian intelligence officer and commander Igor Girkin took to his Telegram channel to summarise the situation for Russian forces in Ukraine and said their intention was 'so obvious' that Ukraine Armed Forces have been able to resist.
Meanwhile, incredible photos have been shared of the inside of Azovstal steel works - which has been under siege in Mariupol for months - after wounded Ukrainian soldiers were evacuated.
Girkin, who has spoken frankly about the difficulties facing Putin's forces in recent weeks as their invasion of Ukraine drags on, shared a detailed summary of their progress, or lack thereof, on his Telegram channel, adding that the failure to make headway was not a surprise.
He wrote: 'With regret I must say that the widely advertised [...] operation to defeat the Donetsk group of the enemy has FAILED.
'In more than two weeks of fierce hostilities (which have cost both sides huge losses) only tactical successes have been reached. Not a single large locality has been liberated.'
Girkin said that perhaps some 'local tactical successes' could be achieved before a counter-offensive by Ukraine forces but said it was unlikely the Donbas region would be 'fully liberated', adding: 'It's likely the UAF will not even be pushed away from the outskirts of Donetsk. And I cannot say that this result is unexpected for me. Quite the opposite.'
It comes as Russia said on Monday that it had agreed to an evacuation effort from the bunkers below the besieged plant in Mariupol to a medical facility in the Russian-controlled town of Novoazovsk.
As the soldier were evacuated, incredible images were shared online showing inside the plant earlier today.
One photo shows a Ukrainian soldier standing under a beam of light in the now-wrecked steel plant as wounded forces were evacuated.
One of Putin's top propagandists has declared Russia's offensive in the Donbas region has failed as incredible pictures show (above) the inside of the steel plant at Azovstal in Mariupol, Ukraine, which has been under siege for much of the war
As wounded soldiers were evacuated earlier today, incredible photos were shared online showing inside the besieged plant
Putin is said to be dictating the troop movements at a level normally overseen by colonels in the Russian army, with Western military sources adding he could be managing as few as 700 troops at one give time
The fighting at Azovstal in ruined Mariupol has symbolised Ukrainian resistance throughout Russia's nearly three-month-old invasion. Most civilians who had sought shelter at the vast Soviet-era plant were evacuated earlier this month.
'In order to save lives, the entire Mariupol garrison is implementing the approved decision of the Supreme Military Command and hopes for the support of the Ukrainian people,' the Azov Regiment said in a social media post.
In an accompanying video, one of the unit's senior commanders, Denys Prokopenko, said: 'The main thing is to realise all the risks, is there a plan B, are you fully committed to that plan which must allow for fulfilling the assigned tasks and preserve the lives and health of personnel?'
'This is the highest level of overseeing troops. All the more so when your decision is endorsed by the highest military command.'
Prokopenko did not spell out what action the defenders were taking. The video was released hours after Russia said it had agreed to evacuate wounded Ukrainian soldiers to a medical facility in the Russian-controlled town of Novoazovsk.
Ukraine estimates tens of thousands of civilians died in Mariupol during months of siege by Russian forces who destroyed the Sea of Azov port, a city of around 400,000 people. The last defenders, including many who were wounded, had been holding out for weeks in bunkers beneath Azovstal, one of the largest metallurgical plants in Europe.
'An agreement has been reached on the removal of the wounded,' Russia's defence ministry said in a statement.
'A humanitarian corridor has been opened through which wounded Ukrainian servicemen are being taken to a medical facility in Novoazovsk.'
Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar earlier told Ukrainian television: 'Any information can harm the processes that are taking place ... Inasmuch as the process is under way, we can't say what's happening right now.'
Footage shared online shows Russian forces bombarding Ukraine held territory with devastating thermobaric missiles
Pictured: When a thermobaric charge is deployed, the first blast sprays a fuel vapour throughout the surrounding area
The fireball caused by thermobaric missiles can melt through defences and vaporize bodies caught close to the explosion
Meanwhile, footage shows that Russian forces continue to use thermobaric missiles to bombard areas still held by Ukraine forces.
In the video, shared online and in an unknown location, dozens of the thermobaric weapons were unleashed, trailing smoke as they soared through the air towards the targets, while the earth around the launcher was set ablaze.
Thermobaric bombs, also known as vacuum bombs or fuel-air bombs, are far more devastating than conventional explosives and work in two stages.
When a thermobaric charge is deployed, the first blast sprays a fuel vapour throughout the surrounding area, before a second blast ignites the vapour cloud in the air.
This results in a huge explosion, triggering a high-temperature fireball which sucks up the oxygen in the surrounding area and creates a massive blast wave.
The fireball can melt through defences and vaporize bodies caught close to the explosion, while the high-pressure blast wave can demolish buildings and rupture human organs.
Earlier today, Putin's own troops said Russian commanders are slaughtering their own wounded soldiers instead of retrieving them from the battlefield for treatment.
A lieutenant-colonel was accused of personally shooting dead multiple troops as they lay injured.
It comes as investigations in the horror town of Bucha have revealed 650 civilians were shot rather than hit by shelling in what police say proves they were executed by Russian thugs.
But their barbarity is not directed only towards the Ukrainians, as Russians spoke out about the brutal killings of their own forces within the ranks.
Captured troops recalled one commander asking a soldier if he could walk after suffering an injury, and when the man replied he could not, the officer killed him instantly.
Russian commanders are slaughtering their own wounded soldiers instead of retrieving them from the battlefield for treatment, according to Putin's own troops
A grave of Russian soldiers is discovered in Vilkkhivka, near Kharkiv, with many troops desperate to escape the horrors of war
Ukrainian solders examine the wreck of a Russian tank in an image taken on an unknown date at an unknown location, but released by the country's defence ministry on Monday
Russia's offensive across Ukraine has all-but ground to a halt, except for an attempted pincer movement around Ukrainian troops at Severodonetsk in the east, and an ongoing assault on the Azovstal steel works in Mariupol
The chilling account comes from young army intelligence troops captured by the Ukrainians.
They are shown speaking in a video clip made by Ukrainian journalist Volodymyr Zolkin who has chronicled Russian captives for Open Media Ukraine.
One soldier told how commanders had 'finished off their wounded'.
Asked by Zolkin what he meant, the captured Russian said: 'Just like that…a wounded soldier is lying on the ground, and a battalion's commander shoots him dead from a gun.'
He explained: 'It was a young man, he was wounded.
'He was on the ground. He was asked if he could walk, so he was shot dead with a gun.'
They are shown speaking in a video clip made by Ukrainian journalist Volodymyr Zolkin (pictured) who has chronicled Russian captives for Open Media Ukraine
A second soldier said on the video: 'The most important thing - this wasn't a single case. The Lieutenant-Colonel was walking around….'
A third soldier then says: 'He shot four or five like this.'
The second soldier says: 'They were all young men.'
The third added: 'They could have been rescued, given help, taken out of there. He simply shot them dead.'
There was no clarity from the video where in Ukraine the alleged shooting of wounded soldiers by their commander took place.
Nor was it clear from the exchanges where the men had been captured, or in which unit they served.
The video came as Ukraine has accused Russia of failing to take back its dead.
Some corpses are loaded in white body bags on refrigerated train wagons.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Ostorozhno Media that the Kremlin has 'no information' on either the bodies of the dead soldiers nor the wounded in Ukraine.
He was told: 'People from all over the country write in social networks that they cannot even get the bodies [of the dead soldiers in Ukraine]. The captives are in trouble too…
'What will we do with our dead and will we exchange captives?'
He replied: 'We do not have this information. It is with the Ministry of Defence.'
Elsewhere today, Ukrainian troops have reached the Russian border after successfully pushing Putin's forces away from the country's second-city of Kharkiv.
Ukrainian troops have posed with a border marker on the frontier with Russia having counter-attacked to the north of Kharkiv and pushed Putin's army out of the country, the regional governor said today
It is thought the footage was filmed Sunday to the north of the town of Ternova, around two miles from the Russian border, which Ukrainian troops had captured the day before
Soldiers carrying a border marker painted in the colours of the Ukrainian flag and bearing the country's trident emblem filmed themselves planting the post somewhere along the frontier, to the north of Kharkiv.
'Today the 15th May, Kharkiv's territorial defence forces of Ukraine - 227th battalion, 127th brigade - went to the border that marks the split between the Russian Federation - the occupiers - and Ukraine. We are here,' one of the soldiers said in footage posted online today by regional governor Oleh Synyehubov.
It is unclear exactly where the footage was filmed though it was likely taken near Ternova - a town roughly two miles from the Russian border which Ukrainian troops entered on Saturday, according to military top brass.
Ukraine has now all-but pushed Russian troops away from Kharkiv, alleviating a bombardment of the city which began on the first day of the war and has seen thousands of civilians killed or wounded.
It came as NATO chief
