Russia has Been Redirecting Ukrainian Drones to Attack Latvian Targets, Riga Says

Paul Goble

              Staunton, June 1 – Over the last month, three drones have crashed in various parts of Latvia; and according to the Latvian defense ministry, “as a rule,” these are Ukrainian drones that Kyiv targeted against Russia but that Russian electronic warfare specialists have hacked and retargeted to hit Latvia.

              While the number of such attacks has been small, the impact of these has been large, with constant air raids, canceled year-end examinations, the drones themselves, and the loss of tourists, Latvian officials say (svoboda.org/a/latgalia-granitsa-rf-upali-tri-bespilotnika/33770038.html).

              But perhaps the most important aspect of this history lies in a different place: If Moscow is in fact redirecting Ukrainian drones, the Russian government has the capacity to do this in a more serious way and can use such tactics to avoid responsibility and engage in a covert war for a long time that some won’t identify as being the handiwork of Russia.

              Indeed, what the Latvian defense ministry is reporting may be a signal of just how Moscow intends to ramp up tensions across the Baltic region and to prepare for what could prove to be an attempt by Russian forces there to seize territory in ways that could lead to controversies within NATO as to how to respond.

Russian Psychiatric Society Says Russian Troops in Ukraine Should Serve There No Longer than Six Months and in Many Cases Far Less Long

Paul Goble

            Staunton, June 1 – The Russian Society of Psychatrists says that no Russian soldier should remain in the war zone in Ukraine for more than six months and that any who are involved in continuous fighting should be replaced after no more than two weeks and in cases of heavy losses after a few days, Kommersant reports.

            The society’s recommendations have been send to the Russian health ministry for approval and are, in its words, “aimed at preventing the depletion of adaptive resources and reducing the risk of developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (kommersant.ru/doc/8707885).

            It is unlikely that the Russian authorities will follow the society’s advice given how pressed for man power it already is; but this declaration by psychiatric experts will likely lead ever more Russians to oppose the way Putin’s war in Ukraine is being fought and come out in opposition to it.

            One recommendation the society has made could actually lead to changes, if not in the use of Russian servicemen on the battle fronts but in their treatment after they return home. Up to now, Russia has not used the latest international definitions of PTSD, and the society calls for the adoption of these and for updating treatment protocols. 

Another Act of Muscovite Discrimination Against Non-Russians: Russian Officials Seek Return of Disproportionate Share of Ethnic Russian POWs

Paul Goble

            Staunton, May 31 – Moscow drafted and sent to fight in Ukraine a disproportionate number of non-Russians and now it is discriminating against them at the other end as well: Only 66 percent of POWs Ukraine has held are ethnic Russians, but among those Moscow has sought to have returned in prisoner exchanges, 83 percent were members of that dominant ethnic group.

            That is a clear sign of ethnic discrimination, according to the I Want to Live project which examined statistics on returnees between 2022 and 2025; and it is certain to further exacerbate ethnic tensions in the Russian Federation (svoboda.org/a/pochemu-semji-voennoplennyh-iz-natsrespublik-govoryat-o-diskriminatsii/33764665.html).

            Mariya Vyshkova, a Buryat expert on the ethnic composition of those killed on the Russian side, says that she and other observers “have noticed all this time that representatives of the indigenous peoples of Siberia and other national minorities, when captured, are much less likely to be exchanged than ethnic Russians.”

            Until now, however, this was “more of an intuitive feeling based on news reports and stories we received; but now these figures confirm that. Why is this the case? On the one hand, she says, “we can say that this is discrimination on ethnic groups: representatives of ethnic minorities are considered less valuable.”

            “But it seems to me, she says, “that this is a matter of political visibility, of what political consequences there may be if this particular individual is not exchanged and thus is also a matter of how noticeable his story is” and how likely it will attract media or at least public attention.

            She adds that non-Russians “really get used to the fact that they are second-class citizens and that they are much less likely to be heard … In general, this reflects reality.” Consequently, it is difficult to say which plays the larger role: the way they are viewed or the fact that they have fewer opportunities to get publicity.”