John Paul Rathbone, ft.com
2022年6月2日
Putin’s growing authoritarianism undermines the modernisation he once sought for the armed forces
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https://www.ft.com/content/fb593be7-f1a1-4965-b6ab-1290fe2a8086
The mobile phone of Lieutenant Yuri Shalaev shines a cold light on Russia’s military culture and the alleged human rights abuses it has spawned in Ukraine. Shalaev was deployed as a motorised rifle platoon officer in late February and was captured by Ukrainian soldiers in April. The videos and text messages on his phone were later turned into a 24-minute documentary by Ukrainian journalists. Heavy editing may make the film a biased source, but the fears shared with Shalaev by his colleagues, and their complaints about shoddy equipment and President Vladimir Putin’s “special operation”, reveal a deep decay in Russia’s armed forces that may continue to hinder its offensive in Ukraine, western defence officials and analysts said.
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