No hemostatic bandages, no trained first responders, and not even felt-tip pens to write brief notes on the casualty’s forehead for the attending physicians. There are disturbing reports from the front. They come from a Russian military insider and are quoted by the renowned US “Institute of the Study of War” as evidence of the apparently completely desolate logistics of the Russian army
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The Russian war of aggression in Ukraine has been going on for around 100 days. It is largely undisputed that the “special operation”, as the Kremlin trivializes it, did not go as Russian ruler Vladimir Putin had imagined. The Russians neither conquered the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in a coup d’état, nor did they manage to overthrow the Ukrainian government, nor do the Ukrainians celebrate the attackers as liberators. In the meantime, the war seems to have developed into a battle of positions and attrition, in which both sides can only achieve small gains by investing heavily on the battlefield.
However, the Russian soldiers obviously cannot rely on good rear cover and logistics. As the ISW reports, citing Russian military insider Boytsovyi Kot Murz, medical care is “miserable”. There is far too little medical equipment and field hospitals for the Russian troops.
According to Boytsovyi Kot Murz’s message published on Friday: “Our standard first aid kit does not contain a turnstile or a full-fledged modern hemostatic bandage – things that can facilitate and simplify the treatment of wounds.” With a turnstile, also tourniquet or tourniquet called , you can block the blood flow after major injuries and avoid heavy blood loss. An absolute minimum standard for every paramedic.
The Russian insider goes on to say that there are no felt-tip pens at the front either. “This marker is not meant for fun. It can be used to mark the time when the tourniquet was applied on the patient’s forehead so that the attending physician can better orient himself. He knows when to release the tourniquet to prevent necrosis with subsequent amputation. You can also note what type of anesthetic was administered to the patient and in what dosage.”
Boytsovyi Kot Murz identified another problem: the lack of medical personnel near the fighting Russian soldiers. For this reason, the evacuation of the wounded would hardly take over paramedics. This poor material and human resources apparently has dire consequences: Boytsovyi Kot Murz believes that many of the wounded have had their limbs amputated that could have been saved. According to the ISW, Boytsovyi Kot Murz’s statements matched earlier reports that poor medical care for Russian troops was contributing to the growing demoralization in Putin’s army.
The lousy Russian war logistics also give the analysts of the US Center for Strategic
And so, after only three weeks of war, the Russians ran out of precision ammunition, such as laser and satellite-guided bombs. As a result, they had to resort to inaccurate weapons, which is significantly less effective. And if the Russian troops did manage to advance quickly into Ukrainian territory, the poor logistics also spoiled their success, according to the CSIS authors. Take, for example, the attack on Kyiv: the armored units reached the capital’s suburbs within 48 hours at the end of February. But there was a big gap behind them. As a result, the advancing units were isolated, an easy target for the Ukrainian defenders.
According to the CSIS study, the Russians have now learned from their mistakes that the logistics work better. But it is also clear that the Western sanctions are increasingly posing problems for Putin’s army, as certain parts are simply no longer available. And morale seems to continue to suffer. Military insider Boytsovyi Kot Murz rants about “bloodsuckers” that you “cannot use in battle, no skills, none of that works”.
