An alleged memo is said to refer to abuses in the Russian army. It’s about outdated technology and a lack of ammunition.
An allegedly leaked document by the former head of the Russian space agency is said to reveal serious shortcomings in the Russian army. Dmitry Rogozin, who is also active as an adviser in the Ukraine war, is said to have sent the list of shortcomings to Anton Waino – head of the Russian presidential office. Telegram channel VChK-OPGU published four pages of the document. Its authenticity has not yet been officially confirmed. However, it contains many details about Russian military equipment.
According to Chris Owen, an Australian military historian, the author takes issue with both the organization and the equipment of the Russian army. After his dismissal as head of the Roskosmos space agency, Rogozin founded a paramilitary group called “Tsar Wolves”, which claims to carry out inspections in the war zone. He was injured in an attack on Donetsk in December.
The document states that he spoke to several military commanders in Ukraine and also made his own assessment. He found that the radar of the Russian missile defense system could not detect any M777 or MLRS long-range missiles from the west and that there was no adequate ammunition to defend against them. So far, only 152mm projectiles have been used.
Criticism of outdated communication technology
The document also speaks of an acute shortage of this ammunition. Data from the Warspotting website suggests there have been fewer 152mm guns destroyed by Ukraine in recent months. This could be an indication that they are not deployed due to a lack of ammunition.
The author of the document also sees problems in the communication infrastructure. For the transmission of information in a brigade, at least 20 base stations are needed, which then forward the information to the next station, instead of to all those involved at the front at the same time. There is also a lack of modern technology, in which the frequencies are constantly changing, which is used in the West. Tanks and other vehicles would use outdated communications technology that could be intercepted by electronic attacks.
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Even the reconnaissance drones that Russia uses are criticized in the document. They are “outdated and ineffective”, the recordings would not have “the necessary resolution”. The models Orlan-10, Granat, Tachyon, and Aileron are mentioned in particular. Because they are exposed to cyber attacks, there have been large losses of material. The Oryx project, which evaluates publicly available data on Russian material losses, assumes that 269 Russian military drones were destroyed or lost.
There have been reports of deficiencies in the Russian army ever since the invasion of Ukraine. Insufficient equipment and mistakes in the military leadership were also reasons for the criticism of the Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozchin. He had begun a march on Moscow at the end of June. However, this stopped after negotiations had started. In June, Vladimir Putin admitted to having lost 54 tanks. In fact, the number is likely to be far greater.
