1/ So-called ‘black commanders’ are confiscating Russian soldiers’ salary cards, then sending them to their deaths, failing to report them missing or killed, and stealing their salaries. This scam is reportedly widespread and has prompted many complaints from soldiers. ⬇️ **
2/ The ‘Brothers in Arms’ Telegram channel describes how the scam works:
"‘Black commanders’ are those who do not report soldiers as missing when communication is lost or a soldier is killed." **
3/ "On paper, the person is still listed, and money continues to be deposited into their account. But who has the card? Take a guess. Modern-day “dead souls,” damn it. **
4/ "We’ve heard stories of commanders taking cards “for safekeeping.” Supposedly, so that relatives don’t lose money in case something happens...
1/ So-called ‘black commanders’ are confiscating Russian soldiers’ salary cards, then sending them to their deaths, failing to report them missing or killed, and stealing their salaries. This scam is reportedly widespread and has prompted many complaints from soldiers. ⬇️ **
2/ The ‘Brothers in Arms’ Telegram channel describes how the scam works:
"‘Black commanders’ are those who do not report soldiers as missing when communication is lost or a soldier is killed." **
3/ "On paper, the person is still listed, and money continues to be deposited into their account. But who has the card? Take a guess. Modern-day “dead souls,” damn it. **
4/ "We’ve heard stories of commanders taking cards “for safekeeping.” Supposedly, so that relatives don’t lose money in case something happens. Sounds caring, yeah. Except that according to the law, commanders have no right to touch other people’s cards. **
5/ "That’s a criminal offence, theft, fraud. But who’s going to check when the person is gone and the card is left behind?
The logic is simple. If a soldier is officially killed or missing in action, the family receives payments. **
6/ "If they are listed as deserters, the family receives nothing. And while the status is undetermined, the money keeps coming. This is where the temptation arises for those in positions of authority and with access to cards. **
7/ "We don’t know if there have been any convictions for this, but considering that the military police are busy with completely different nonsense, we can assume that there haven’t been." **
8/ There have been numerous complaints about this practice, which appears to be taking place in many different units on many different fronts in Ukraine. It’s possible that some men are deliberately being sent to their deaths so that their commanders can steal their salaries. **
9/ One example is that of Vladimir Grigorievich Shlyakhtichenko of the 228th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment, who went missing in action in September 2025. **
10/ His sister Lyubov says that in their last conversation, he complained that his commanders had beaten him, confiscated his weapons, took his payment card, a car, phones, and documents, and was about to send him on a combat mission unarmed. He has not been heard from since. **
11/ Rodion Igorevich Shashnin’s family made regular bribe payments of 30,000 rubles ($390) a month – known as "life support" – to his commander to keep him out of assaults. When they stopped the payments, he was ‘sold’ to the assault unit of another regiment. **
12/ At this point, according to his wife, he was "isolated and his combat veteran ID and bank card were confiscated." He was reported to have been wounded, supposedly refused treatment, and then disappeared. He could not be contacted after that. **
13/ Artur Aleksandrovich Sharanov from the 7th Motorised Rifle Regiment underwent major heart surgery in January 2025 but was then declared fit, brought back to Ukraine in handcuffs, and sent straight into combat. As in other cases, his ID and bank card were confiscated. **
14/ Anton Alekseevich Putyatov from the 1435th Motorised Rifle Regiment reported repeatedly being threatened with death by "soldiers of non-Slavic appearance" if he did not hand over his salary card and PIN. **
15/ He was told every day: "Give me your card, give me your money, give me your PIN—you’re about to get hit in the head. We’ll break you, we’ll wipe you out."
Putyatov deserted, fearing that he was about to be murdered. His eventual fate is unknown. **
16/ Vladimir Dulyaninov, a soldier of the 6th Guards Tank Regiment, told his aunt that soldiers are forced to leave their bank cards and PIN codes with their commanders before going on assaults with minimal ammunition and no provisions. **
17/ Similar reports have been published almost daily for months, indicating how widespread these practices are. Relatives have say that getting access to their deceased loved ones’ salary accounts, they have found them empty, with all the money withdrawn after the men’s deaths. **
18/ Such reports highlight how Russian commanders have become accustomed to robbing their men, and are likely making small fortunes by Russian standards. For many in the Russian army, war has become a very profitable business opportunity. /end **
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to force a refresh
** ** Keep Current with ChrisO_wiki **
Stay in touch and get notified when new unrolls are available from this author!
** ** This Thread may be Removed Anytime!**
Twitter may remove this content at anytime! Save it as PDF for later use!
More from @ChrisO_wiki
Dec 6
1/ A Russian convict soldier has described the gruelling and deadly experience of serving in a ‘Storm V’ assault unit, from initial training, to facing swarms of Ukrainian drones, and being the only survivor of a bloody battle against dug-in and determined Ukrainian forces. ⬇️
2/ Russian warblogger ‘Maxim Kalashnikov’ publishes the account of a Storm V soldier of his acquaintance:
"We weren’t trained for long. At the Markovka training ground, the instructors, tired of repeating the same thing over and over again, don’t care how you’re trained."
3/ "The main thing for them is that there are no injuries or accidental hits on their own during shooting. However, these were rare. What did they teach us? Who knows? How did they teach us? Not at all from the point of view of survivability and combat effectiveness.
Read 37 tweets
Dec 5
1/ Russians who were mobilised in 2022-23 and have survived to the present day may not live much longer, as they are reportedly being formed into assault squads, where they will likely be sent to their deaths. This is forecast to lead to a bribery bonanza for commanders. ⬇️
2/ The ‘Vault 8’ Telegram channel reports:
"Bad news is coming from two directions—the "North" group and Zaporizhzhia."
3/ "There, the threat of "[sign a] contract or [go to an] assault" for mobilised soldiers has shifted to shady tactics: removing mobilised soldiers from the unit’s roster and preparing them for transfer.
Read 11 tweets
Dec 5
1/ Civilians under Russian occupation in the Luhansk region are starving and dying of cold because of a breakdown in essential services under the ‘Luhansk People’s Republic’ (LPR), according to a complaint by a Russian warblogger. ⬇️
2/ A significant number of Ukrainians – many of them elderly people, who grew up under the Soviet Union and often still hold pro-Russian views – still live in the frontline Svatove and Kreminna districts. However, they now have no electricity and conditions are reportedly dire.
3/ ‘Veterans’ Notes’ warns that the region faces ‘mass casualties’ among the civilian population – who are now regarded by the occupation authorities as Russian citizens – if urgent action is not taken to restore power:
Read 14 tweets
Dec 5
1/ The new US National Security Strategy blames ‘undemocratic’ European governments for failing to make peace with Russia, takes a pro-Russian position on NATO, reflects white nationalist views on European demographics, and pledges overt support for far-right parties. ⬇️
2/ While the strategy states that "it is a core interest of the United States to negotiate an expeditious cessation of hostilities in Ukraine", it says that "the Trump Administration finds itself at odds with European officials who hold unrealistic expectations for the war…
3/ …perched in unstable minority governments, many of which trample on basic principles of democracy to suppress opposition."
(This is likely a reference to European regulation of social media and the 2024 annulment of the Romanian election due to Russian interference.)
Read 13 tweets
Dec 4
1/ A group of Russian soldiers say their commanders are "simply driving us to the slaughter" after extorting and brutally beating them: "There’s no support, no air force, nothing. You just stomp along and die." They are all now listed as missing in action. ⬇️
2/ The men are from the 328th Guards Airborne Assault Regiment (military unit 01011), which is currently fighting in the Zaporizhzhia region. Heavy fighting is ongoing south of Zaporizhzhia city, where the Russians are trying to open the route to the north.
3/ The soldiers say that they "encountered abusive practices—money collection—and we refused. Yet another money collection. They started collecting money for some company needs, from us, the soldiers. We refused to contribute. The next day, they came and beat us."
Read 24 tweets
Dec 1
1/ An apparent attack on a ‘shadow fleet’ tanker off the coast of Senegal means that Ukraine may now be able to attack Russian interests worldwide, says Russian war correspondent Alexander Kots. He calls it a new and threatening phase in the war. ⬇️
2/ Kots, who writes for Komsomolskaya Prava, has asked how Russia should respond to the severe damage suffered on 27 November by the oil tanker Mersin. Its Turkish owners report that the vessel was hit by four external explosions while it was in the eastern Atlantic Ocean.
3/ The crew is reportedly safe, but videos show the vessel down by the stern after the engine room flooded. The incident is strikingly similar to the confirmed Ukrainian attacks on 28 November against two oil tankers which were travelling to Russian Black Sea ports.
Read 15 tweets