When they set out for the front, they knew they were going to die. The two Russian drone operators had spoken to the commander and realized that the new mission was suicidal. And they were right.
They predicted their own deaths. And they were right. Two Russian drone operators were killed after being deployed in an assault as part of the offensive in Povrosk, Ukraine. After a disagreement with the commander, the two specialists were integrated into an infantry platoon, in retaliation by their superior.
Convinced they were walking toward death, Dmitry “Goodwin” and Sergei “Ernest” Gritsai recorded two videos that they posted on Telegram on Friday. In them, the two soldiers level harsh accusations against their commander and warn of their own imminent death.
The transfer never took place. There is a second video, which I did not translate because it does not provide much new information, with Goodwin and his colleague “Ernest”, who was also sent to certain death. In addition to previous accusations, they said that humanitarian aid was also stolen.
— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated) September 13, 2024
“I’m recording this because there’s a high chance I won’t come back from this robbery,” predicted Dmitry “Goodwin” Lysakovsky, who has been fighting for the Donetsk People’s Republic in the breakaway Donbass region since 2014, according to Russian media reports. In one of the videos, he is shown standing next to Sergei “Ernest” Gritsai, a career officer. Both have been recognized by warfare experts as among the best frontline drone operators, Business Insider reports.
In another video, Lysakoysky lists complaints to his commander Igor “Zloy” Puzyk. He accuses him, among other things, of trafficking drugs for his unit, claiming false earnings in the field, and providing information to a network of Ukrainian military spies. “Lying is an absolute rule,” the soldier sums up.
A very curious incident occurred for the Russians in the direction of Pokrovsk. We have all heard when the Russians send specialists such as operators of unmanned aerial vehicles and tankers to attack meat. In this case, one operator recorded a video before his death…
1/ pic.twitter.com/b893g7mF3w— WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated) September 13, 2024
Another resentment expressed by Lysakoysky was the dismantling of the high-performance drone unit that carried out reconnaissance on the front lines to which he and Gritsai belonged and which ultimately prompted the deployment of the two in an infantry platoon. “Please do not serve in the Ministry of Defense… your task is to die here so that the commander of your regiment looks good in the eyes of his superiors. You will be one of his personal servants,” he accuses.
On Sunday, the Ministry of Defense confirmed the death of the two soldiers and asked the commander of the Russian army in Ukraine to conduct an investigation into the victims and the video. However, this official communication failed to counter criticism of the ministry’s actions by Russian pro-war influencers.
The case has once again brought into question the use of military specialists – such as drone operators and snipers – for infantry strikes. Pro-Kremlin Russian journalist Alexander Kots called the decision “sabotage.”
This does not appear to be an isolated case, but rather an “openly criminal practice” of a “systemic nature”, “both due to a lack of personnel and hostility from commanders”, says political commentator Svytoslav Golikov.
In their farewell video, Dmitry and Sergei say they only carried out the suicide mission imposed on them because of the “oath they swore to the homeland.”
Source: Observadora
