In his
Telegram military blog, Girkin, who uses the pseudonym Igor Strelkov, echoed the ongoing criticism of the Russian military community toward the commanders. He confirmed that Russian forces near Vuhledar had to advance in motorized and tank columns along narrow roads and ended up piling up.
“Ukrainian artillery shoots exceptionally accurately. More than 30 units of armored vehicles were lost. Dozens of tankmen were killed. Even more marines, special forces, and motorized riflemen died,” Girkin said. “All these losses turned out to be ‘one-sided’ — the Ukrainians shot the attackers like in a shooting gallery.”