I supported Kursk operation in its early stages, but in recent months I have had impression that they are trying to wipe us out, - Commander of 47th SMB Shyrshyn
While performing missions in Kursk region and on the Ukrainian-Russian border, the battalion commander of the 47th Separate Mechanised Brigade "Magura", Oleksandr Shyrshyn, faced tasks that, by all accounts, were doomed to failure and exposed his personnel to a high probability of unjustified losses.
He posted this on Facebook, Censor.NET reports.
According to him, this happened repeatedly, without regard to previous tragic experiences. The battalion and companies took all possible measures to prevent these losses.
"Before making a public statement, I repeatedly made formal and informal appeals on the expediency of performing the tasks with proposals at various levels of our command. Almost all appeals were ignored (except for one, thanks to the commander of the 117th Brigade).
Due to the lack of proper response, I wrote a post with a simple goal: we need to change our management approaches and adequately assess our capabilities," Shyrshyn explained his public submission of the report.
He also noted that he had never demanded the resignation of the chief of the army or any other individual from the command of the troops, because our problems are systemic, not just tied to one person.
"But in response, for some reason, I received accusations, slanders against me and calls to 'support the Chief of the Armed Forces' and 'not to take the rubbish out of the house' from individuals and units loyal to the 'military elite'.
I have also never said that we should stop fighting, quite the opposite: only the strong are reckoned with and it is necessary to physically destroy the enemy. And in addition to defence, we have to attack, because otherwise wars are not won. That is why I supported the Kursk operation and its implementation in the early stages.
I have never sought awards in any way, let alone earned them. I did not seek titles or positions. I just did my job where I was, honestly and conscientiously, to the best of my knowledge and skills," he adds.
Shyrshyn also emphasises that his battalion has always been in difficult areas.
"We never whined. We worked hard despite all the problems and difficulties. Our work and results were repeatedly covered by the media, the President in his addresses, etc.
My brave infantry gnawed at our Ukrainian land, knocking out the enemy, holding the defence in the encirclement until their last breath, saying: "Guys! It was an honour to fight with you!", my brave crews - the best - drove into the rear of the f*ckers, destroyed tanks and armour, got wounded, blew up, got back in formation and repeated, mortar gunners at their positions held back the f*ckers who drove into our rear, while simultaneously covering the infantry on the front line. The sappers, who mined the road under the enemy's nose, did the most work in Donbas. Grenade launchers, anti-tank platoon, machine gunners, medical unit, reconnaissance, rear - everyone was involved both in their own areas and as infantry. We suffered losses, mourned our comrades, gathered our will and took revenge. No matter how difficult it was, my soldiers took risks and followed orders.
But over the past few months, I have the impression that they are simply trying to erase us. People's lives are being disposed of like extra money at a party. The proportionality of losses to gains indicates a low level of efficiency," he says.
"It was this and the inability to reach the command in the prescribed manner to preserve the combat capability of my unit and the lives of my men that prompted me to highlight the problem publicly.
Also, despite my statement, none of my soldiers have withdrawn or left their positions, and continue to perform new tasks while still under my command. To date, there have already been attempts to communicate from the General Staff, and I hope for a constructive conversation, the development of a specific working solution, and not just a cover-up to avoid similar situations in the future," he concludes.
What preceded it?
Earlier, Censor.NET reported that the commander of the 47th SMB "Magura" Shyrshyn submitted a letter of resignation due to the "stupid tasks" of the command.
In his turn, Censor.NET editor-in-chief Yurii Butusov, commenting on Shyrshyn's actions, noted that the statement of 47th Brigade commander Shyrshyn requires an official response from the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff and the command. Further actions in the Kursk region should be planned only after the After action review.
Afterwards, it was reported that, by order of the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, a working group had been set up to comprehensively study the circumstances outlined in the post by the unit commander of the 47th Separate Mechanised Brigade on social media.
