1/ The introduction of severe new restrictions on military movements in occupied regions of Ukraine is causing havoc for logistics, according to a warblogger serving in the Russian army. As most supplies are purchased by soldiers or volunteers, this is causing major problems. ⬇️
2/ Earlier this year, the Russian army decided to impose what it calls 'peacetime order' on the rear areas of the occupied territories. They are now defined as "territory living by the rules of the permanent point of deployment." https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/stat...
3/ The author of the 'Vault No. 8' Telegram channel urges the authorities to "loosen the grip of peacetime on the fighting units of the army", under which movement across the Ukraine-Russia border – which Russia still enforces – has been severely restricted.
4/ "This primarily concerns the idiotic local ban in the LPR on the crossing of no more than five vehicles per day from each military unit, including ammunition supply vehicles. This is the ultimate ban on self-imposed restrictions on the logistics of a fighting group.
5/ "For example: a printer breaks, you need a new one (of course, you have to pay for it yourself, at 24-35,000 rubles apiece; the army won't provide that). Before 2025, this problem could be solved in 1-2 days.
6/ "You could order it from Ozon [Russian equivalent of Amazon] or drive across the border to the nearest DNS [electronics store] on the same day. Now, however, it takes a week or a week and a half, unless the regimental commander cooperates.
7/ "Not to mention that receiving parcels from SDEK, Russian Post, and other orders from Ozon/Wildberries has become much more difficult and time-consuming. And what do we get in our parcels?
8/ "That's right, things the army doesn't provide us with—drone parts, almost everything we need for proper modern communications (do you think the MOD issues switches, too?).
9/ "And all the office supplies, because the army doesn't issue laptops, printers, laminators, staplers, photo paper, laminating sheets, and so on. But it loves to demand all this stuff—"And in the N-th regiment, magazines are bound!"
10/ "Incidentally, a consequence of the border crossing complications has been the military's return to buying everything from local residents in the LPR. And the prices haven't gone down. Let me remind you of my favourites:
11/ - Category C1 eggs—180-210 rubles [$2.17-$2.53] per dozen.
12/ - Any vegetables, in season—"everything for 100." I came to Moscow on vacation a year ago, in November 2024. Onions were 35 rubles per kilo, potatoes around 40 rubles, carrots 30. And in the LPR, they were 75 to 100 rubles. In an agricultural region, yeah.
13/ - 2-liter soda (for example, Dobrokola) - from 250 rubles [$3] per bottle. - Energy drinks from 200 to 300 rubles [$2.41-$3.61] per can. - Front suspension springs for a VAZ - 5,000 rubles [$60.19] (on Ozon, around 2,400-2,700 rubles).
14/ "If before, our suppliers would happily travel to Great Russia and shop there at more friendly prices, then since the beginning of this year we have been "boosting" the local economy again.
15/ "I wonder if there is a corruption component to this (a deal to return the military to the markets of the north of Novorossiya [i.e. occupied Ukraine] under a plausible pretext).
16/ "There's not even any printer paper in the warehouses—it's all being snapped up. Until early 2025, when document flow across all services doubled or tripled, the supply service managed to keep up with paper supplies.
17/ "But now it can't, because the paper-loving generals and colonels haven't increased their paper quotas, but they have increased document flow. So, like in 2022, we're buying paper ourselves again."
18/ The author observes that it's unsafe for the soldiers to have supplies delivered to them via the Russian post office. The reason is due to Ukrainian partisans doxxing them:
19/ "They'll ask: why don't you order from Russian Post offices in the new territories? It's convenient; they'll deliver it almost to the front.
20/ "Well, yes, they'll deliver, for example, an electronic warfare jammer to a local post office in the northern LPR and obtain the recipient's personal information.
21/ "Then the recipient will find themselves on Myrotvorets [Ukrainian doxxing website], their relatives will be called by scammers from thieving Ukrainian call centers, and a photo of the package will end up in an SBU or GUR bot.
22/ "Of course, this could happen in the border regions of Great Russia, too, but here, of course. Not all the "waiters" [pro-Ukraine partisans] have been caught yet—just imagine, they don't want to be caught, so they're evasive." /end