The high -precision blow of the Ukrainian Himars system on the Russian base in Makeevka on New Year’s Eve caused a new wave of criticism to the Russian military leadership, experts of the American Institute for Studying War (ISW) write in the summary.
On the eve of the General Staff of Ukraine, he said that as a result of the blow, up to 10 units of equipment were destroyed, but did not name the alleged number of victims. The Department of Strategic Communications of the Armed Forces of the Armed Forces previously stated that as a result of a strike on the building of the professional, where Russian troops were located, 400 were killed and 300 people were injured.
The Russian Ministry of Defense on Monday recognized the fact of a blow and announced the death of 63 Russian military.
ISW experts believe that the Russian Ministry of Defense is trying to shift the guilt for the poor organization of safety and secrecy measures (OPSEC) to the DPR leaders and the mobilized themselves. Representatives of the DPR told the Russian media that the cause of the blow was the “high cell activity of the military” (the blow was supposedly delivered immediately after midnight).
Prochrevsky publications and some “military commissars” said that the Russian military should not underestimate the abilities of Ukraine, and called on to introduce more stringent rules for using mobile phones for military personnel. In the information space, calls also sounded to punish those who decided to use the PTU building building, as well as the requirements of the resignation of the head of the DPR Denis Pushilin.
ISW compares this situation with mass criticism from Russian military bloggers after a failed Russian crossing across the river in Belogorovka in May 2022 and an unsuccessful Russian offensive operation in Pavlovka in October. “… Russian sources claimed that Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the military and Investigative Committee to investigate the incident in Makeevka until January 6. Putin’s inability to respond to criticism and correct the shortcomings of the Russian military campaign could undermine the trust in him as a practical military leader.” It is said in the report.
The institute experts conclude that the Russian military department may deliberately assumed that the DPR authorities would blame the military personnel to violate the security rules in order to make the DPR the responsible party.