Authority is not a natural gift for all leaders. Even less, it seems, in the Russian army. So, while President Vladimir Putin praised the “positive momentum” of his “special operation” in Ukraine – in which, according to Ukrainian figures, Moscow nonetheless lost more than 115,000 men, including more than 600 on Jan. 14 alone – he made a soldier of the mistake of his life (or rather his death) in a base in the Belgorod region.
According to Newsweek, which relies on the account of Russian state authorities and media, three men were reportedly killed, 16 others injured and eight missing after a grenade was “mishandled”.
According to the broadcaster Telegram Baza, a soldier confiscated the small bomb “to gain authority among his subordinates”. Bad luck, the leader in question was also an idiot and the grenade went off: as an authority he therefore found death and caused that of his comrades.
A munitions blast caused by mishandling a grenade in Russia’s Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine killed three and wounded 15
Another stupid Russian 🇷🇺 accident #Ukraine #UkraineRussiaWar #StandWithUkraine #UkraineWar #NATO #Kiev #Kherson pic.twitter.com/TRY7KUdUfw
— Luis (@2536luis) January 16, 2023
The dumpling
To make matters worse, the action seems to have taken place in the immediate vicinity of a large ammunition dump. The explosion reportedly covered an area of ​​450 square meters and firefighters had to use great resources to extinguish the resulting fire.
The case is known to be a (sad) adventure. But it says a lot about the difficulty for Russia to lead an army made up of oddballs, professional soldiers and conscripts whose training is as minimal as their equipment.
These days there is talk of a new and large Russian mobilization that could affect 500,000 men and could lead to conscription due to the postponement of the legal retirement age. Still, these men need to be trained and equipped to bring real fighting force to the front lines.
Unless, as in Bakhmout, Soledar, or elsewhere, they are considered cannon fodder, bait used to wear down Ukrainian armies and eat away a few miles of terrain in wave after wave of death.