Friday, May 23, 2014

Why does Russia not leak the names of the war criminals?

While Nazi death squads are roaming around the Donbass and murdering civilians and "their own" soldiers the Kremlin's response seems to be limited to two aspects: denouncing the atrocities on the ground and providing truthful information to the Ukrainian population (via the Russian media) and the world (via RT).  This is good, but not enough.

I am pretty confident that the GRU knows all the Ukrainian unit commanders down to the company commander (usually a Senior/First Lieutenant).  This is standard practice for any military intelligence agency.  They most definitely know (or should know) all the names of the brigade HQ officers and above.  Finally, I would also bet that all the names of the senior Right Sector and various death squads commanders are also known to the GRU.

So why not leak them to the media?

Let it be know that if you give a criminal order your name will become public which, while not as unpleasant as a court-martial for war crimes, could still be very, very unpleasant for the folks thus singled out.

The Russians could begin by a small leak, just a few names, and then make it known that "more names shall be leaked as circumstances warrant it".  This would create quite a panic, at least amongst regular Ukrainian army commanders, the pilots of rotary or fixed wing aircraft, artillery battery commanders, especially if the penalty for being put on such a list is left deliberately vague.  And it could save a lot of lives.

Alas, it appears that the traditional GRU mania for secrecy is still the rule and that the appointment of a relatively young GRU Chief (Igor Sergun) has not heralded a new era in this traditionally most conservative branch of the Russian military.

But maybe another, more forward looking agency, could make a few suggestions to the right people?

The Saker