Kyiv's strikes expose Russian ammunition crisis, blogger lashes out

Russian propagandist and war blogger Egor Guzenko has loudly begun to talk about the "shell hunger" affecting Russian units in Ukraine. Problems are said to stem from precise and spectacular attacks by Kyiv. At the beginning of September, Guzenko lashed out at Putin and spoke about "traitors in the Kremlin."

Kyiv successfully attacked two massive ammunition depots in Russia in recent weeks. Drones fell on ammunition depots in Tikhoretsk, Krasnodar Krai and Toropets, Tver Oblast.

"For God's sake, help! There's nothing left of the village" - residents of a village located next to the ammunition depot in Toropets appealed on September 18.

In just this location, at least 33,000 tons of ammunition stored in open magazines and bunkers were destroyed, which constitutes up to three months' supply for the Russian army.

Estonian intelligence noted that as a result of just one attack by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on September 18, Russia lost a stockpile of 750,000 rounds with an average consumption of about 11,000 per week.

The British Ministry of Defence highlighted that "the strikes will almost certainly cause at least short-term disruptions in Russian ammunition supplies for artillery forces, as well as small arms, which are critical resources during an attrition war characterized by massive bombardments."

The Kremlin continues to pretend that nothing serious has happened. However, a Kremlin propagandist broke the silence.

“I would like to address a very important issue of shell hunger among soldiers. This is not a localized issue. Now it is felt in different directions and again is gaining unhealthy momentum. There are even limits in place, and exceeding them results in penalties,” said Guzenko.

According to Guzenko, this problem is particularly acute on those sections of the front where there are "active assault operations". “The 98th Airborne Division of the Russian Federation has this problem, as do many other units. I will not mention them all because there are many. These problems are accelerating today,” he emphasized.

The war blogger also added that Russian weapon factories "work day in and day out," yet shortages are evident. “Where is this ammunition going? Why is there so little in the military?” he asked.

At the beginning of September, Guzenko, who runs one of the leading Telegram channels called "Thirteen," followed by over 320,000 subscribers, published a series of emotional videos in which he sharply criticized President Vladimir Putin, the Russian government, and military leadership. The reason was the announcement of criminal proceedings for "discrediting the army" against his colleague, war correspondent Alexander Sladkov.

At that time, Guzenko accused Putin of failing to start a full-scale war with Ukraine in 2014, which led to the "current situation in Ukraine." “If 10 years ago one old man had not honestly fought in 2014, this whole (curse) wouldn't have happened, and so many boys wouldn't have died. And now we are being taken prisoner and killed,” he said.

Guzenko expressed the opinion that Russia had been "captured by traitors," who currently "sit in the Kremlin." He recalled that the authorities had imprisoned "inconvenient" citizens, citing the example of Igor Girkin (Strelkov), convicted of extremism, a former separatist forces commander in Donbas, who started the war in eastern Ukraine in 2014.

Moscow considered Girkin's comments, which he posted on Telegram, as "calls for extremism." The former separatist leader in Donbas was critical of the situation in occupied Crimea and the salaries of Russian soldiers from the so-called Donetsk People's Republic.