Russia's 'shell hunger': Kyiv's precise strikes expose supply woes

The Russian propagandist and war blogger Egor Guzenko has begun speaking loudly about the "shell hunger" affecting Russian units in Ukraine. The problems are said to stem from Kyiv's precise and spectacular attacks. Guzenko criticized Putin at the beginning of September and spoke about "traitors in the Kremlin."

In recent weeks, Kyiv successfully attacked two massive ammunition depots in Russia. Drones fell on the ammunition depots in Tikhoretsk in the Krasnodar Krai and Toropets in the Tver Oblast, among other places.

"For God's sake, help us! There's nothing left of the village," pleaded the village residents right next to the ammunition depot in Toropets on 18 September.

At this location alone, at least 30,000 tonnes of ammunition stored in open warehouses and bunkers were destroyed, equivalent to a three-month supply for the Russian army.

Estonian intelligence noted that as a result of just one attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on 18 September, Russia lost an ammunition supply reaching 750,000 units at an average consumption of 10,000 per week.

Even then, the British Ministry of Defence emphasised that the strikes would almost certainly cause at least short-term disruptions in Russian ammunition supplies for artillery forces and small arms. These supplies are critical during a war of attrition characterised by massive shelling.

The Kremlin still pretends that nothing serious has happened. However, a Kremlin propagandist broke the silence.

Guzenko raised the critical issue of ammunition shortages among soldiers, emphasizing that this is not a localized problem but one affecting various fronts. He noted that the situation is once again taking a concerning turn, with restrictions in place and penalties for exceeding those limits.

According to Guzenko, this problem is particularly acute on the frontlines where "active assault operations" are taking place. The 98th Airborne Division of the Russian Federation has this problem, as do many other units. I won't list them all because there are a lot. These problems are gaining enormous momentum today, he emphasized.

The war blogger also added that Russian arms factories "work day and night," and yet the shortages are noticeable.

At the beginning of September, Guzenko, who runs one of the leading Telegram channels called "Trzynastka," which is followed by over 300,000 subscribers, published a series of emotional videos in which he sharply criticised President Vladimir Putin, the Russian government, and the military command. The reason was the announcement of a criminal investigation for "discrediting the army" against his colleague, war correspondent Alexander Sladkov.

At that time, Guzenko accused Putin of not starting a full-scale war with Ukraine in 2014, which led to the "current situation in Ukraine."

Guzenko expressed the opinion that Russia is "captured by traitors" who currently "sit in the Kremlin." He reminded that the authorities put “inconvenient" citizens behind bars, citing the example of Igor Girkin (Strelkov), sentenced for extremism, the former commander of separatist forces in Donbas who started the war in eastern Ukraine in 2014.

Moscow considered Girkin’s comments on Telegram, calling for extremism. The former separatist leader in Donbas spoke critically about the situation in the occupied Crimea, as well as the salaries of Russian soldiers from the so-called Donetsk People's Republic.