“It couldn’t have happened without a local spotter”: the expert named the reasons for the tragedy with the 128th brigade
Date: 2023-11-06 Author: Кирило Загоруйко Categories: WAR
Military expert Alexander Musienko analyzed the circumstances of the tragedy that occurred as a result of a strike by a Russian Iskander-M missile on the award ceremony site for personnel of the 128th separate mountain assault brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
During the telethon, he noted that all the circumstances that led to the tragic death of military personnel as a result of an enemy missile strike would be clarified by the Ministry of Defense after an investigation. But, given the Russians’ use of the Iskander-M missile for the strike, they could not do without a local spotter.
The only reason for the tragedy cannot be considered the imitation of the “exclusively Soviet tradition” of organizing personnel for awards.
“This is a Soviet tradition, but it is also inherent in other NATO armies. Especially when one of the soldiers is being awarded. This always happens when there is a formation, when they come out, when they see who is being awarded. This is done specifically when the entire formation of military personnel greets perform these tasks together. And they see that the President or the Commander-in-Chief, or the Minister of Defense has honored with an award in order to do this more solemnly. Where to do this, at what moment, is decided individually each time. Whether to do it somewhere in a shelter, where it is allowed conditions, or in an open area, at what time of day - this is determined by the command on the spot. Therefore, it cannot be said that the only reason is the formation," Musienko emphasized.
The military expert noted that the Russians, when using Iskanders, in most cases use gunners.
“I still think that, as happened with Groza in the Kharkov region, as in other cases when the Iskander missile was used, it could not have happened without the so-called gunners. Unfortunately, I do not rule out that they may be among the locals or among those who saw it. As a rule, 80% of all uses of Iskanders on the territory of Ukraine, regardless of where, occur with spotters, who confirm or do not confirm," Musienko noted.
The Russian occupiers use the Iskander-M missile in special cases, when they are convinced that a strike will definitely lead to a hit with a large number of casualties.
"The fact is that this is an expensive missile that the enemy uses, as a rule, when he knows for sure that there will be a crowd of people there. That there is someone there and therefore he needs to use it. You see that cases, compared to the use of others types of missiles, they are not so frequent. This is why the enemy needs an adjustment. Who does this? Those who see something, who transmit information. The security service has found suspects in Groza who are to blame for this. I also think “We couldn’t do it without a spotter,” Musienko explained.
According to a military expert, the Russian drone that circled over the scene of the tragedy served not as reconnaissance, but as recording.
“To then use and demonstrate it for propaganda purposes. Of course, to spread it, which is what the Russians did through various social networks. The fact that there was a drone is possible due to the fact that electronic warfare systems were not working somewhere and did not muffle the signal. But, It should not be ruled out that at that time our drones could also be operating in certain areas. Accordingly, these electronic warfare systems did not work, because our UAVs could not operate. These are areas close to combat operations and flights often take place there. And, unfortunately, this tragedy happened,” Musienko said.
The Russian occupiers are constantly looking for the locations of the Ukrainian military not only on the front line, but also in the rear. Therefore, in order to protect the lives of military personnel during reserve training, Ukraine needs the help of international partners.
“For example, remember, we had strikes in the Lviv region, on objects that could be used by the military, fortunately there were no dead or wounded there. But the Russians are constantly looking for objects and conducting reconnaissance. Firstly, in places of permanent deployment and secondly, where such places could be. Therefore, General Zaluzhny wrote in his article that we need help from the West for reserve exercises. No one wants to put the lives of our soldiers at risk," the military expert concluded.
