War in Ukraine. The death of a Russian major general has exposed another problem for the Kremlin: communication

– Tima, can you speak on a secure channel?

– Oh [canal] Insurance does not work here and we can not talk to anyone. where are you?

(Russian soldiers on the phone after the battle near Kharkiv, Ukraine)

Ukrainian armed forces assassinate Russian Major General Vitaly Gerasimov on Monday This information was presented by the Ukrainian news agency NEXTA and confirmed by Russian sources.

Gerasimov was a respected veteran of the Russian army and played a key role in the last military conflicts in Russia: the Second Chechnya War, the war in Syria and the annexation of Crimea – he received an honorary medal from the Kremlin. In 2014 this post was “for favorite”.

Because of this “curriculum”, Gerasimo’s death shook the Russian military: “FSB officer during the roll call [Serviço Federal de Segurança russo] He claims that the 41st Army has reported the death of its leader and that all secure communications have been lost, ”said Cristo Grochev, managing director of the research journal Bellingate.

To report Gerasimo’s death, the FSB officer used a cell phone with a regular SIM card – which was easily intercepted by Ukrainian secret services.

At the other end of the Bellingate press line, Dmitry Shevchenko identified himself as a senior FSB officer in Tula, 600 km from Kharkiv. When he heard the news on a civilian cell phone, Shevchenko took a “long pause” and said a bad word, the journalist described.

Initially, he asked if his subordinates could speak through the era – the encrypted military communications system introduced last year by the Kremlin, which promised to operate “at any stage” in war.

Jesus, Ukraine has just killed the General. Major Vitaly Gerasimov, commander of the 41st Army. In Kharkiv.
Russia, if you ask: Remove your army.

– ஸ்டchristogrozev March 7, 2022

But the era did not work, it was the fault of the Russians: in the last few days, the Russian military has destroyed several 3G telecommunication towers in Kharkiv. Now, the Era system requires a 3G or 4G network to work. “The Russian military is equipped with secure mobile phones that do not work in areas where the Russian military operates,” journalist Cristo Krosev summed up.

Gerasimov is already the second general of the 41st Russian army to have died during the war in Ukraine: Earlier this month, the Kremlin confirmed the death of Gerasimov’s right – hand man, Major General Andrei Tsukhovsky.

So far there are no confirmed figures on the casualties of the Russian army: for now, Moscow admits that it lost about 500 soldiers in Ukrainian territory, but the Ukrainian government estimates that more than ten thousand Russian soldiers were killed in the war.

Now in addition to the communication deficiencies revealed by Gerasimo’s death, the Russian military has faced logistical and motivational problems in recent days: many of the men who invaded Ukraine initially thought they were participating in a military exercise and have little combat experience. , Cited several international sources.