According to intercepts by Ukrainian intelligence, Russian conscripts unhappy with the war are sharing tips on how to sabotage their own tanks.
If Ukraine's figures are correct, over 1100 Russian tanks have been lost in Ukraine so far. To put that into perspective, that is more than the Nazis lost on the entire eastern front in 1943. Ukraine has inflicted serious damage to be sure, but some of that may also be the Russians themselves, sabotaging their tanks and possibly saving their own lives.
Source: The Daily Beast
Russian fighters have been sharing tips with one another about how to deliberately damage their own equipment and hamper Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war plans in Ukraine, according to recordings of alleged Russian troops’ phone calls that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) intercepted.
In one regiment, one Russian soldier allegedly said they’ve been pouring sand into the tanks’ fuel systems to clog them up.
“I don't follow stupid orders, I simply refuse,” one fighter can be heard telling a comrade. “The motherf*cker sent me to tanks, motherf*cking piece of shit. I f*cked it up and that's it.”
When the fellow Russian soldier on the other end of the line heard the unit wasn’t punished for the insubordination, he indicated he might repeat the tactic later in his own unit.
Here's the call. I couldn't find it translated/subtitled.
Americans too are helping out, by kindly sending instructions to the Russians on
HOW TO SABOTAGE YOUR RUSSIAN TANK 101
with Navy Captain and Astronaut Scott Kelly tweeting in Russian, while ret. Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling and CNN military analyst kindly translating into English. So helpful. Hertling, an army general, knows a thing or two about tanks.
