Russian stormtroopers minutes before an assault in the direction of Ukrainian positions. They are all dead. Video was captured from one of their phones.
Any source? Reminds of that ragtag group of suckwads Meera used to incite Ghorma on that show Andor. What an unnecessary waste of life. Glad they dead, but twould be better if someone just stabbed Putin in the neck.
Not anymore. They are also forcing university students to sign up now. Ukrainian drone kill cams show just as many young, fit men as old ones these days.
The guy at the end is the one collecting their singing bonuses and telling the loved ones that their husbands/sons are "missing" rather than dead so that he can steal more. The priest will get a cut.
It's begins with a prayer, for being safe and for victory. Then he goes on and on about god being with them and their cause and wishing everyone a good campaign and a safe return home.
Reminds me of this old comedy show called Dad's Army. I'd love to feel sorry for these poor sods, but alas, they kill Ukrainians (or at least try to), so fuck 'em.
It's eugenics. In war you can cull the "undesireables" from you population by shipping them off to get slaughtered. They provide a distraction while you have real forces doing something else. Or you just send them off to die in another country and make the cleanup the other country's problem. And if other country captures them, you just tell them to keep them. Putin is a supremicist elitist, just like trump, netanyahu, etc
I think that's an orthodox military chaplain. A gopnik cleric in adidas blue. You don't see that every day. Not sure if that's better or worse than a training instructor. Assuring those poor doomed fuckers that the creator of the universe is on their side and making them believe they're immortal is a special kind of evil
Rate they're going through people 2 weeks is extremely generous... At this point I wouldn't be surprised if it's more likely 4 days and "here's some used armor and a gun, maybe with some bullets with it, not sure - get moving in that direction".
Some soldiers are indeed sent out without any guns - as so-called "mules", the lowest informal rank in the Russian military. All they are supposed to be doing, as the title implies, is carry supplies to forward posts in contested and heavily drone-infested territory. Packed with fuel and ammunition, but no way to defend themselves, they are easy targets.
Most religious organisations have a co-operative arrangement as "big picture" they share the same ethos and goals, Russian Orthodox wore the mask of a church for decades under soviet and oligarch rule but more recently has cast that off and now wholly acts as an organ of the russian state
Assuming the tile is correct and without knowing what's being said, it's a sad loss of life. Even if they're on the wrong side. The whole war is unnecessary. Throwing troops into the grinding doesnt seem to be achieving anything. The lines barely move. I wonder how many groups the priest has blessed and how he's dealing with it. I assume priests gave similar blessings before people went over the top in WWI. It's near inconceivable that over a 100 years later mankind is still doing that.
Man, ages all over the place with children standing next to elderly and all except the blue guy and the one behind em look wan as if they aren't eating well. And still their leadership throws em into the grinder, and still they charge. Wonder what it must take to finally break morale. Tho I imagine they're all under the fear of what happens to their families if they desert.
Priests blessing soldiers before deployment is not a case of religion being used to justify a war...this is not a holy crusade. Nobody is there because of their religious beliefs.
Why is he "blessing them" instead of telling them to choose peace over war. Tell them to just sit the fuck down. "Blessing them" is the same thing as approving of their actions. ALL religion is evil. ALL religion is myths and parables. There is no supreme being or "blessing" that is going to protect them. They are going to kill and die for a dictator - "blessed" to do so by a lying priest.
Part of Putins eugenics program. Send anyone "undesireable" to the front lines to get culled. Eugenics is perfectly legal when you call it a "war" and force folks to participate.
You can’t go back to Russia you’ll be killed on sight. You could surrender to Ukraine but you will be shot at by other Russians as you go. Even then most units cannot take you. It is a Warzone and it is risky to take you revealing your position etc. Russia has never cared for its soldiers, never.
Some estimates go as high as 40! ... Yeah. It's horrifying. Ukraine should and must defend its home land, I don't blame them at all. But what Putin is doing to his own people is just mind blowing.
They combine it with ethnic cleansing. Heavily lean on all the various groups, like the first nations and get them to sign up. And in some places a man will earn more with the sign up bonus then he ever will in his lifetime. Assuming the bonus is actually paid, his family is better off. Anyone remotely connect to power or money is just shoving other people forward. Assuming 10% of the male population holds power or money, thats 90% that can get shoved in the blender. So far they've shoved>>
1,5% in. (male adults between 18 and 60) Over five years. so 0.3 per year, 300ish years to work through that 90% without power or money. I assume some sort of societal collapse or revolt might happen but purely on math, they can keep this up for a long time. They're more likely to switch to polygamy for the rich and powerful before voluntarily stopping with pushing people into the blender. They'll just work their way through whatever minorities they have.
You'll notice the lack of combat boots, just sandals. Thats all that was left for them to wear after every level of their chain of command stole their gear to sell on the black market.
Using reverse image search, the oldest appearance of this photo appears to be from September 2022, when image generation was nowhere near capable of producing something like this. It's also been widely shared on Russian websites and there are zero telltale signs of AI nonsense. It's real.
That's exactly what the Wagner Group was doing. Pump their mercenary troops full of drugs, then send them straight at the Ukrainian positions. They'd be so juiced they'd keep moving until they bled out. Couldn't feel a damn thing. But they were also so completely fucked up they'd attack their own people as well.
I saw a documentary about Ukrainian soldiers having to hold out against the Russians for months on end under the worst conditions imaginable. They are all taking everything they get their hands on.
Well, they aren't going into "battle" but into a blood sacrifice to appease the coward that's "leading" them. So yeah. I'd wanna be high as a kite aswell.
Had a comment thread about this when a video of wood blocks in a plate carrier was shown. Obviously shitty replacements passed off as corruption is accepted while changing military doctrine to reflect their funding reality would be stepping back. Its a "don't blink first" school of thought. They would rather send out naked men with sticks rather than admit they aren't winning.
You must Excuse their Equipment, they didn't got their latest delivery from Wildberries or Ozon. Honestly they get very basic Gear and have to buy upgrades from Online Shops like Wildberries or Ozon. Guess what they are lacking now.
These men don't even get buried. They just rot in the no-man's land after having been feasted on by wild and feral animals. Some corpses are actually used for orientation as part of the primitive paper orders Russian soldiers are getting (e.g. turn right after the charred corpse to get to your target).
Ragged, Mismatched, too young, and too old... Russia's already slaughtered all their proper fighting aged men, now they're resorting to the children and the elderly to keep their flames of war fed.
You cannot retake exams at universities anymore, unless you sign up. There is immense pressure. Prisons, schools, universities and workplaces are receiving ever increasing sign up quotas by the government - this includes women now, to their shock (a video of flabbergasted and often teary-eyes Russian women showing their mobilization orders made the rounds recently). A country with massive brain drain and a shrinking population is throwing everything into the meat grinder.
Yep. Towards the end, the Volkssturm were pulling in all sorts of people who were either too young or too old to have served in the military, including recruiting 12-year olds from the Hitler Youth to throw them into the meatgrinder.
SlavaUkrainisaysSteveBuscemi
Any source? Reminds of that ragtag group of suckwads Meera used to incite Ghorma on that show Andor. What an unnecessary waste of life. Glad they dead, but twould be better if someone just stabbed Putin in the neck.
Rangar
"Most (of these men) have seen too many winters," . . . "or too few."
ButtscratchMcPherson
But the fat guy in the dress is going to be ok, right.
TheFastpaws
Ya, the fat fuck religious dude stays there to bless the next group being sent off.
Skawomplious
Kids and old men.
StubbDubya
Poorly educated kids and old men sent to slaughter.
DdCno1
Not anymore. They are also forcing university students to sign up now. Ukrainian drone kill cams show just as many young, fit men as old ones these days.
bigdix69420
Ah yes... operation meatgrinder
SomeGuyWhoSaysStuff
I wonder if they know going in they are just there to die. Poor guys probably had no choice, forced to fight for a corrupt old man
DemonicFruitfly
Evenmoreuselessname
Whelp, that image is disturbing as fuck. Apropos, but I wish I hadn't seen it
DdCno1
It's much less gruesome than what this looks like on the battlefield.
pres465
The guy at the end is the one collecting their singing bonuses and telling the loved ones that their husbands/sons are "missing" rather than dead so that he can steal more. The priest will get a cut.
AtmaDarkwolf
Is sad cuz they likely have no choice but to do it, and likely don't even get to see real news. Fuck putin. Slava Ukraine.
napalmEnema
God they look malnourished weak and scared. Awesome army bro no really
iamthemurray
From my understanding, they give them a backpack, 2bottles of water and rations for less than a week and literally tell them "go here"
sevenfingerman
Does anyone have a translation? I’m sure it’s just dribble, but I’m curious about what is actually being said.
TungstenTiger
It's begins with a prayer, for being safe and for victory. Then he goes on and on about god being with them and their cause and wishing everyone a good campaign and a safe return home.
Cayowin
Cant speak Russian but the guy in blue is the Orthodox Chaplin or equivalent, so I'm assuming its a blessing or last rites kinda thing.
RexFury
"is he giving us last rites? We're coming back right? Right?"
Buffoonery
Nothing but old men and young boys. Fuck Putin!
TheDiscoVampire
Gotcha44
Reminds me of this old comedy show called Dad's Army.
I'd love to feel sorry for these poor sods, but alas, they kill Ukrainians (or at least try to), so fuck 'em.
FireArrow
I don't mean to be insensitive, but it does seem like they are scraping the bottom of the barrel here
Thajurriesexcuesed
Your confusion is understandable. Russia IS the bottom of the barrel.
WillLickNudibranchsForBUzz
more like the left-over crust after the barrel was scraped a few times....
sadurdaynight
It's eugenics. In war you can cull the "undesireables" from you population by shipping them off to get slaughtered. They provide a distraction while you have real forces doing something else. Or you just send them off to die in another country and make the cleanup the other country's problem. And if other country captures them, you just tell them to keep them. Putin is a supremicist elitist, just like trump, netanyahu, etc
SacrificialClam
Jesus christ, its like the Poor Fucking Infantry from The Witcher
lonosham
Including the fat fuck in blue? Because if even one trainer survives, they will keep sending wave after wave of conscripts into Putin’s Folly
getadogupya
The guy over his left shoulder looks to be weighing up whether ending him, then and there, would be worth it...
Ardback
nope. The fat fuck is the one who remains behind the front just for blessing the next wave of cannon fodder.
FiftyShadesOfMascarpone
I think that's an orthodox military chaplain. A gopnik cleric in adidas blue. You don't see that every day. Not sure if that's better or worse than a training instructor. Assuring those poor doomed fuckers that the creator of the universe is on their side and making them believe they're immortal is a special kind of evil
ProjectDA
not really, these guys arent receiving much training. its probably just them cramming a semester of PE in to 2 weeks then sending them to die.
TheVampireDante
Rate they're going through people 2 weeks is extremely generous... At this point I wouldn't be surprised if it's more likely 4 days and "here's some used armor and a gun, maybe with some bullets with it, not sure - get moving in that direction".
DdCno1
Some soldiers are indeed sent out without any guns - as so-called "mules", the lowest informal rank in the Russian military. All they are supposed to be doing, as the title implies, is carry supplies to forward posts in contested and heavily drone-infested territory. Packed with fuel and ammunition, but no way to defend themselves, they are easy targets.
Shoutrr
no, not him, he still has a lot of last rites to perform
Joshuary81
+5% damage buff
Nekola
Being trained or not won't stop that.
Archangel1591
World war 2 all over. "One of you has a rifle, the other the ammo, survive"
Squossifrage
the fat fuck in blue is a chaplain
Whoisthisdoctorwho2000
Can he still be a chaplain if the "church" is no longer recognised as a church?
Squossifrage
recognized by who, and why does it matter?
Whoisthisdoctorwho2000
Most religious organisations have a co-operative arrangement as "big picture" they share the same ethos and goals, Russian Orthodox wore the mask of a church for decades under soviet and oligarch rule but more recently has cast that off and now wholly acts as an organ of the russian state
katolu
Is that a kid? A Gully Dwarf?
AkLonewolf
he is standing in a hole so to speak.. so he looks like a foot smaller than everyone else.
Tminus1622d
Assuming the tile is correct and without knowing what's being said, it's a sad loss of life. Even if they're on the wrong side. The whole war is unnecessary. Throwing troops into the grinding doesnt seem to be achieving anything. The lines barely move. I wonder how many groups the priest has blessed and how he's dealing with it. I assume priests gave similar blessings before people went over the top in WWI. It's near inconceivable that over a 100 years later mankind is still doing that.
Tminus1622d
grinder*
magus200342
Man, ages all over the place with children standing next to elderly and all except the blue guy and the one behind em look wan as if they aren't eating well. And still their leadership throws em into the grinder, and still they charge. Wonder what it must take to finally break morale. Tho I imagine they're all under the fear of what happens to their families if they desert.
duktayp
Some of those people look a little short to be Stormtroopers... Some of them because they look like kids
DrKonrad
Look more like Sprinkletroopers to me
SJBSavageInk
The one is standing in a hole. Presumably it's the grave he wants his body to be buried in after he dies.
TheRealSauceBoss
Oh they're probably adults, just super short suffering from fetal alcohol caused by their shitfaced mothers.
Hovencl00f
They are crossing themselves backwards, as Orthodox Catholics do. Not that it makes any difference.
RichardPenne
A perfect example of religion being used to get people to do horrible shit.
pres465
And Ukrainians are largely the same religion.
minqapoc
Priests blessing soldiers before deployment is not a case of religion being used to justify a war...this is not a holy crusade. Nobody is there because of their religious beliefs.
Daliena06
Dude. They have LITERALLY declared it a "holy war" against "the satanist west" https://diplomatmagazine.eu/2024/04/03/ukraine-is-now-holy-war-russian-church-declares/
RichardPenne
Why is he "blessing them" instead of telling them to choose peace over war. Tell them to just sit the fuck down. "Blessing them" is the same thing as approving of their actions. ALL religion is evil. ALL religion is myths and parables. There is no supreme being or "blessing" that is going to protect them. They are going to kill and die for a dictator - "blessed" to do so by a lying priest.
sadurdaynight
Part of Putins eugenics program. Send anyone "undesireable" to the front lines to get culled. Eugenics is perfectly legal when you call it a "war" and force folks to participate.
YouAlreadyMutedMe
I recently read that the average lifespan of a Russian on the front is 20 minutes.
Thajurriesexcuesed
That's 25 minutes too long...
sadurdaynight
You think there'd be more cases of them fraggin their officers and going awol
TheFastpaws
You can’t go back to Russia you’ll be killed on sight. You could surrender to Ukraine but you will be shot at by other Russians as you go. Even then most units cannot take you. It is a Warzone and it is risky to take you revealing your position etc. Russia has never cared for its soldiers, never.
TheMomaw
Some estimates go as high as 40!
...
Yeah. It's horrifying. Ukraine should and must defend its home land, I don't blame them at all. But what Putin is doing to his own people is just mind blowing.
Tminus1622d
They combine it with ethnic cleansing. Heavily lean on all the various groups, like the first nations and get them to sign up. And in some places a man will earn more with the sign up bonus then he ever will in his lifetime. Assuming the bonus is actually paid, his family is better off. Anyone remotely connect to power or money is just shoving other people forward. Assuming 10% of the male population holds power or money, thats 90% that can get shoved in the blender. So far they've shoved>>
Tminus1622d
1,5% in. (male adults between 18 and 60) Over five years. so 0.3 per year, 300ish years to work through that 90% without power or money. I assume some sort of societal collapse or revolt might happen but purely on math, they can keep this up for a long time. They're more likely to switch to polygamy for the rich and powerful before voluntarily stopping with pushing people into the blender. They'll just work their way through whatever minorities they have.
UsertubeBandwagon
damn, looks like they’re pulling old farmers off of the plow and throwing them straight into the boots!!
hohohoooo
All for their dictator—just cannon fodder https://imgur.com/CNH2qi6.png
FinnTrollen
"commando squad"
obijan
They look like henchmen for a villain in an 80s Bond ripoff B movie
RexFury
the body posture of the one on the left looks like hes gonna ask me to prom
CallMeCourierSix
He's scared shitless. He knows he's going to die soon, and there's nothing he can do to stop it.
TheRealSauceBoss
You'll notice the lack of combat boots, just sandals. Thats all that was left for them to wear after every level of their chain of command stole their gear to sell on the black market.
mikeatike
Combat crocs.
SalmonTheWise
The paratrooper striped shirt just completes the ensemble.
Poppypoppoppop
This is what US military will look like by the end of Trump's term, if not already.
DykeReeve
To me, it looks like AI.
DdCno1
Using reverse image search, the oldest appearance of this photo appears to be from September 2022, when image generation was nowhere near capable of producing something like this. It's also been widely shared on Russian websites and there are zero telltale signs of AI nonsense. It's real.
DykeReeve
Thanks!
SalmonTheWise
Alcoholics Identified.
TheRealSauceBoss
Majority of them look completely shitfaced, stoned, or fucked up on opiates.
CallMeCourierSix
That's exactly what the Wagner Group was doing. Pump their mercenary troops full of drugs, then send them straight at the Ukrainian positions. They'd be so juiced they'd keep moving until they bled out. Couldn't feel a damn thing. But they were also so completely fucked up they'd attack their own people as well.
kmikl
They're hopeless.
RacecarIsRacecarBackwards
I saw a documentary about Ukrainian soldiers having to hold out against the Russians for months on end under the worst conditions imaginable. They are all taking everything they get their hands on.
MiserableBustard
Can you really blame them? They're a bunch of conscripts that probably knew they were about to die.
TheFastpaws
Many sign up knowing because their families get the money. Russia is gross.
TheRealSauceBoss
I don't want to perpetuate the sterotype of russians being completely hammered 24/7, but, I mean, you know?
Kilo11
Id wanna be high as a kite too why you hating?
getadogupya
You'd want to go into battle while inebriated?
MarkoffChaney
Nope, but for instant death by Ukrainian drones? Sure.
Ragganmore
Well, they aren't going into "battle" but into a blood sacrifice to appease the coward that's "leading" them. So yeah. I'd wanna be high as a kite aswell.
Kilo11
Drunk as fuck and on shrooms
MouthyLurker
A regiment's supply of Pervitin.
adamlstf9
Good to know there are still some true Berserkers out there!
YetAnotherUserNameToRememberDangit
Well, their equipment is ragged and mismatched, a few look ready to fall o IS THAT A BLOODY TWELVE YEAR OLD? Jesus wept.
iamahorriblemonsterwhodeservesdeath
Could be a lifetime of malnourishment, I met a few Russians who looked similar when I was working overseas.
TheRealSauceBoss
It's ragged, mismatched, and probably some shittty temu airsoft replica shit their commanders made them pay for with their own money.
OnlyWantToSayOneThing
Had a comment thread about this when a video of wood blocks in a plate carrier was shown. Obviously shitty replacements passed off as corruption is accepted while changing military doctrine to reflect their funding reality would be stepping back. Its a "don't blink first" school of thought. They would rather send out naked men with sticks rather than admit they aren't winning.
Elkarlo1977
You must Excuse their Equipment, they didn't got their latest delivery from Wildberries or Ozon. Honestly they get very basic Gear and have to buy upgrades from Online Shops like Wildberries or Ozon. Guess what they are lacking now.
freakdiablo
One looks 12, one looks to be pushing 90. The Russia is resorting to grabbing anyone too poor or too disabled to GTFO.
diemajorthrilldie
I could be wrong but the neck tattoo on the fella in the tan shirt near the end means he had a life sentence?
iamahorriblemonsterwhodeservesdeath
Probably. I read they've been offering convicts pardons if they sign up for the meat grinder.
diemajorthrilldie
Judging from his tone he's offering some very sage advice. Looks like it served them well.
Marsupialmessiah
A lot of those folk are older than i am too
barbarian818
I think he's an adult. Just a short adult who is also, inexplicably, standing in a hole between his squad mates.
ButtscratchMcPherson
Makes him easier to bury.
DdCno1
These men don't even get buried. They just rot in the no-man's land after having been feasted on by wild and feral animals. Some corpses are actually used for orientation as part of the primitive paper orders Russian soldiers are getting (e.g. turn right after the charred corpse to get to your target).
barbarian818
Clearly morale is something that got sold off by a politically connected general on the black market because high command thinks it's useless
SalmySwims
Couple of dudes in there look like they're in their 70's
HikariShade
Ragged, Mismatched, too young, and too old...
Russia's already slaughtered all their proper fighting aged men, now they're resorting to the children and the elderly to keep their flames of war fed.
Margrave9000
Good. After the war, the healthier, stronger Ukrainian genes will sweep across the steppe towards the Urals uncontested.
The new Ukrainian lands will need lots and lots of new Ukrainians.
DdCno1
You cannot retake exams at universities anymore, unless you sign up. There is immense pressure. Prisons, schools, universities and workplaces are receiving ever increasing sign up quotas by the government - this includes women now, to their shock (a video of flabbergasted and often teary-eyes Russian women showing their mobilization orders made the rounds recently). A country with massive brain drain and a shrinking population is throwing everything into the meat grinder.
woodworkerf
Wasn't Hitler, the Austrian, using kids by the end of the war?
KAPTKipper
and old men. I think Russia has used up the prisons, drunks, homeless and the like
torp
Volksturm
Daliena06
Yep. Towards the end, the Volkssturm were pulling in all sorts of people who were either too young or too old to have served in the military, including recruiting 12-year olds from the Hitler Youth to throw them into the meatgrinder.
SarcasticComment
Japan was teaching children to fight with steak knives. They're were prepared to throw everyone at a land invasion with door to door fighting
Wolfshead009
And bamboo spears.
SarcasticComment