“The data obtained also indicate significant problems with communication in the occupier’s army and with the evacuation of their broken units” according to Ukraine DIA.
Bellingcat executive director, Christo Grozev, a former Naval intel officer, explains that Russia’s crypto phones may no longer work in Kharkiv.
They became inactive because Russian forces destroyed surrounding cell phone towers. The Russian encrypted communications system is dependent on 3G or 4G which was transmitted via the cell towers.
“In the phone call in which the FSB officer assigned to the 41st Army reports the death to his boss in Tula, he says they’ve lost all secure communications. Thus, the phone call using a local sim card. Thus, the intercept,” Grozev added.
The top brass casualties depict what Grozev calls a ‘real disarray’ within the Russian military.
Russia’s failure to protect its top-ranking officers shows the disorganization of the Kremlin’s invasion of Ukraine.
Bellingcat is a high-tech digital investigation and news team. They have historically been focusing on Kremlin misinformation.
