Russian Army which has Looted in Ukraine Now Looting in Russia’s Kursk Oblast as Well, Officials There Compelled to Acknowledge

Paul Goble
    Staunton, Nov. 15 – In the early stages of Putin’s expanded war in Ukraine, there were widespread reports that the Russian invasion force was engaged in the looting of Ukrainian households. Now, the same thing is taking place in portions of Kursk Oblast where Ukrainian troops have never been.
    After ignoring the problem for most of the last three months or even denying it for three months, Russian officials have been compelled to acknowledge it because it is so widespread (zona.media/article/2024/11/15/kursk, zona.media/news/2024/11/14/_sluchai_maroderstva and t.me/kurpepel/834).
    Not only does this highlight the decline in military discipline in a force that is increasingly made up of former convicts who have been pardoned by agreeing to go to fight in Ukraine, but it raises the specter that when such troops do return home, they are far more likely to engage in criminal activities, unconstrained by the fact that they are again among Russians.