After Makiïvka attack, Russians criticize their army – Pierre Haski

Since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine ten months ago, the Russian military has faced several setbacks. But nothing had aroused reactions comparable to those that came after the Makiïvka disaster, in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories in Donbass, where a Ukrainian attack caused hundreds of deaths. Today one wonders if in the future we will talk about a “before” and an “after” Makiïvka.

On January 4, the Russian general staff revised the toll from 63 to 89 victims, while Ukrainian and Russian sources speak of three hundred or even four hundred dead. The building hit by the Ukrainian missiles was completely destroyed, no doubt because it also housed an arms depot.

The blame game
Russian President Vladimir Putin has remained silent in the face of what has been experienced as a tragedy in Russia. Yet, although he remains isolated inside the Kremlin, the president certainly captures the sentiment of the population and the criticisms that have been overwhelming the army for the past two days. The accusations spare the “tsar”, who is still unassailable, but ask for justice and even revenge. The main target is the military hierarchy, held responsible for the series of mistakes that led to this disaster.

The reaction of Margarita Simonyan, director of Russian TV RT and supporter of Putin, was significant. Simonyan praised the army’s efforts to identify those responsible, adding that “we must understand that immunity does not lead to social tranquillity, but to new crimes and therefore to public disorder”. Some Russian bloggers who endorse the war have expressed their anger at the military more directly. For two days, the strongest reactions have come from Samara, an industrial city on the Volga where some of the deceased came from. A low-key, government-controlled ceremony took place in Samara, with a soldier’s mother’s speech absolutely in line with the Kremlin.

The woman even asked Putin to confirm the general mobilization to win the war. Instead, a local MP asked what lessons will be learned from this tragedy and who will be held responsible. Immediately the army defended itself. On January 4, the Russian General Staff said that Russian soldiers were spotted by Ukrainians because of their mobile phones. But on social networks, public opinion accuses the military of blaming the victims and underlines that the officers are still responsible for the fate of their men.

This blame game takes place in the context of a rivalry between groups, with one figure emerging more and more: that of Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of the Wagner private army. The ambitious Prigozhin shows himself in the videos shot at the front, surrounded by soldiers. These videos show that Prigozhin has the courage to support the men in need in Bakhmut, where Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu or Army Chief Valery Gerasimov have not often been seen on the front lines in recent months. These battles between groups escalate with every failure of the army. Makiïvka will certainly leave deep traces, still difficult to determine.

(Translation by Andrea Sparacino)