The Hasty Withdrawal of Russian Special Forces from Luhansk Linked to the Threat of Rebellion

The Hasty Withdrawal of Russian Special Forces from Luhansk Linked to the Threat of Rebellion, According to the Source Close to the 3rd Spetsnaz Brigade

New details about the hurried withdrawal of Russian Special Forces troops from the 3rd Guards Spetsnaz Brigade, military unit 21208 from Tolyatti, became available from the Ukrainian counter-espionage office, and information leaked in specialized forums.


After the capture on May 16, 2015, in Luhansk Oblast of two Russian Spetsnaz troops, Captain Erofeev and Sergeant Aleksandrov, their unit was immediately withdrawn from a temporary base in occupied territory and hastily transferred from Millerovo airfield in Rostov Oblast to their home base in the Russian city of Tolyatti.

Previously, it was assumed that such a hasty withdrawal happened because of the disclosure of information on the size, location, and mission of the Russian reconnaissance unit, but the real reasons were much more serious. A former serviceman of the 3rd Spetsnaz Brigade, close to military personnel of the brigade, told the story on condition of anonymity.

After detailed analysis and verification of the information, we decided to make it public.

An interesting read to say the least.

The individuals reading this will need to decide for themselves the accuracy of the information contained.

I am leaning towards it being accurate based on this -

A wave of discontent and indignation arose among enlisted personnel and junior commissioned officers due to the fact that the State, in particular, the command of the Defense Ministry, gave up on their comrades. The greatest outrage was provoked by a statement that the captured in Ukraine servicemen were supposedly discharged before their assignment, and a campaign to discredit them by the Russian government began, involving members of their families.

When the government gives up on the soldiers it ordered into the mission and then tries to discredit them and deny they had anything to do with them is a powerful incentive to be pissed and want to take an action to protect their comrades who were left behind and forgotten by the Russian government.

I think the longer this goes on the more issues Putin is going to have trying to convince everyone they aren't in Ukraine. The fact Putin is now disowning the very soldiers he sent into Ukraine could be Putin's downfall on the home front.

a reply to: Xcathdra

Well I would expect them to get out, because there is no way Russia will risk the chance for a Spetnaz Brigade to be found on Ukrainian territory.

Seems like Russia is a bit nervous with the capture of those two soldiers...

It's getting harder every day to deny the fact they are there.

a reply to: Xcathdra

What are you know more evidence. I'm beginning to find it amusing that Putin actually thinks we believe him. When you think about how much money Putin is wasting lying the Russian public should be outraged.

What is this 'Informnapalm' ??

Your source is about as informative as your own opinion. It is a blog.

Is it yours? Are you floggin your bloggin?

a reply to: MALBOSIA

You deserve a star for that post comrade.

originally posted by: MALBOSIA
What is this 'Informnapalm' ??

Your source is about as informative as your own opinion. It is a blog.

Is it yours? Are you floggin your bloggin?

No, no. He specifically stated:

The individuals reading this will need to decide for themselves the accuracy of the information contained.

Not to be persuaded of course by:

I am leaning towards it being accurate based on this -

Source about us:

The team is committed to fighting for the freedom of Ukraine from the aggression of the Russian Federation in its attempt to break up and dominate Ukraine. Ukraine will choose its own course in history. There are many websites publishing on the situation of Ukraine. We don’t wish to duplicate this work, and we cannot cover everything. Therefore our focus is clearly on the military situation, although we must reflect how the military intertwines with the social, economic and political aspects.

I'm sure they intend to be objective with their bias.

a reply to: Rosinitiate

Not bias.. My personal opinion based on the article as well as previous incidents when Russian forces were caught in Ukraine - both Crimea and eastern Ukraine.

I specifically stated people need to make up their own minds and I specifically stated why I felt the info had something to it other than possible propaganda coming from the Ukraine side.

We have been hearing reports recently about Russian soldiers refusing to deploy to Ukraine and we have family members of dead Russian soldiers being paid off to keep their silence about where their family members died at (inside Ukraine). Special forces, in my opinion, are going to be more "loyal" (so to speak) when it comes to each other. They make it a habit of not leaving anyone behind.

If they were forced to leave behind 2 of their own, only to see those 2 individuals cut loose by the Russian government, it could have opened up a can of worms Russia is not going to be able to deal with IE keeping the information quiet.


Putin already played the "uhhmm, errrhm... They got lost" card. It wont work this go around.
He also played the they are not active duty military card and that's not going to work anymore either.

originally posted by: MALBOSIA
What is this 'Informnapalm' ??

Your source is about as informative as your own opinion. It is a blog.

Is it yours? Are you floggin your bloggin?

Got anything on topic or are you just wanting to derail the thread?

please stay on topic and take the personal attacks elsewhere.

Bellingcat - Three Graves: Russian Investigation Team Uncovers Spetsnaz Brigade in Ukraine

The following post originally appeared on the LiveJournal of Ruslan Leviev, found in the original Russian here. The translation has been provided by Kirill Mikhailov, as found on his website here. Ruslan Leviev’s investigation team is not a part of Bellingcat, but its findings are in line with many of Bellingcat’s published and ongoing investigative reports of direct Russian involvement in eastern Ukraine.

This investigation was prompted by a post found on Russian social network Vkontakte on the death of a certain Anton who died “fighting for the Motherland” (original post | saved copy):

Click link to read article.

a reply to: Xcathdra

So it is your blog then? The websites "about us" page stated what I quoted. My comment on bias was towards the website as they state as much themselves.....or yourselves, which ever the case may be.

originally posted by: Xcathdra

originally posted by: MALBOSIA
What is this 'Informnapalm' ??

Your source is about as informative as your own opinion. It is a blog.

Is it yours? Are you floggin your bloggin?

Got anything on topic or are you just wanting to derail the thread?

please stay on topic and take the personal attacks elsewhere.

The "topic" you post in your OP has no value because it is nothing more than a carbon copy of your own opinion.

I think that it is an honest question to ask. Are you in any way connected to the publication of this blog?

originally posted by: Rosinitiate
a reply to: Xcathdra

So it is your blog then? The websites "about us" page stated what I quoted. My comment on bias was towards the website as they state as much themselves.....or yourselves, which ever the case may be.

No its not my blog and please stop with that BS attempt. Engage the topic and stop with the personal attack attempts.

a reply to: MALBOSIA

No I am not..

I stated readers would need to make up their own mind. I also posted a Bellingcat article discussing Spetnaz actions in Ukraine.


Are you guys so incapable of discussing the topic in an intelligent manner than you resort to attacking the person who posted it? If its wrong then surely you guys would have no issues refuting the information presented right?

Now - engage the topic and not me personally.

a reply to: Xcathdra

New details about the hurried withdrawal of Russian Special Forces troops from the 3rd Guards Spetsnaz Brigade, military unit 21208 from Tolyatti, became available from the Ukrainian counter-espionage office, and information leaked in specialized forums.

I don't suppose that there is a list of old details ,seeing that these are new details ?

a reply to: the2ofusr1

I think they are referring to the possibility that they were able to identify the specific Russian Spetnaz unit in question, which would be new information from the original statement, which just stated they caught active duty Russian special forces operating in Ukraine.

Russia claimed they were no longer active members, which apparently appears to be an inaccurate statement with the new info about the specific unit in question.

Reuters - Ukraine says it will prosecute captured Russian soldiers for terrorist acts

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said in Brussels the prisoners had been targeted by their own side.

"Russian officers tried to kill their own people as soon as they understood they were caught by the Ukrainian military," Klimkin told reporters.

originally posted by: Xcathdra

originally posted by: Rosinitiate
a reply to: Xcathdra

So it is your blog then? The websites "about us" page stated what I quoted. My comment on bias was towards the website as they state as much themselves.....or yourselves, which ever the case may be.

No its not my blog and please stop with that BS attempt. Engage the topic and stop with the personal attack attempts.

Dude, I can't help it if you can't read. I specifically stated the "about us" on that page said they are reporting on Russia's aggressive behavior in Ukraine. So their news is "one sided" hence "biased". YOU assumed I was talking about you and explained yourself. Since I was talking about the website I assumed you were taking ownership.

a reply to: MALBOSIA

When you don't have a reputable source of your own, attack the messenger. If Russian troops have been ordered into combat without being recognized, rebellion is a distinct possibility. If discontent spreads, there will be more stories like this and even the Russian media will be forced to carry them. Let's just wait a few weeks and see what happens.

a reply to: Rosinitiate

When you post this -

originally posted by: Rosinitiate
a reply to: Xcathdra

So it is your blog then? The websites "about us" page stated what I quoted. My comment on bias was towards the website as they state as much themselves.....or yourselves, which ever the case may be.

Maybe you should think about what you post before posting it so you don't get confused. Your comments in that post included me with the article and being biased.

originally posted by: Xcathdra
a reply to: Rosinitiate

When you post this -

originally posted by: Rosinitiate
a reply to: Xcathdra

So it is your blog then? The websites "about us" page stated what I quoted. My comment on bias was towards the website as they state as much themselves.....or yourselves, which ever the case may be.

Maybe you should think about what you post before posting it so you don't get confused. Your comments in that post included me with the article and being biased.

Because you said this:

Not bias.. My personal opinion based on the article as well as previous incidents when Russian forces were caught in Ukraine - both Crimea and eastern Ukraine.

Come on, are we really gonna play this game again? You're derailing your own thread.