2024-04-04 11:22:39
The “Storm Gladiator”, a secret attack group formed by the Russian Ministry of Defense from prisoners to fight in Ukraine, took part in the bloodiest battles of the war and suffered heavy losses.
RFE/RL’s Sistema investigative unit of the Russian service spoke with former members of the Storm Gladiator group, their relatives, and people with knowledge of the group, gathering information about its history, commanders, recruiting practices, and the group’s place among other assault units.
The common name is “Sturm Z”.
In the material prepared by Daniil Belovodiev, an employee of “Sistema”, it is said that “Gladiator”, which is considered a selective and private combat unit, is one of the assault units of the army made up of prisoners. The common name of these units is “Sturm Z”.
In addition, according to the information obtained by “Sistema”, “Gladiator” and other assault units of the army formed from prisoners are being reformed by the law signed by President Vladimir Putin in June of last year. Apparently, Gladiator is in the process of being released.
In the fall of 2023, Russia started offensive operations in several directions along the front line in Ukraine in order to take new positions before winter. Army’s “Sturm Z” offensive forces played a leading role in these battles.
“First, we trained with “Sturm Z”. Then [komandirlər] came and chose people for the “Gladiator” association. We all came from prison”– a former soldier told “Sistema”.
A video story shared on social media
Dmitry Knayev, a Russian soldier captured in Ukraine, told a similar story in a video interview published on pro-Ukrainian social media channels last December. He said that he was sentenced to 7 years in prison for murder, and while in prison, he was drafted into the army and sent to “Sturm Z”, from where he was selected to “Gladiator”.
Sources close to “Gladiator” say that the fighters were selected based on their physical condition, celibacy, as well as their experience in the military and law enforcement agencies. The trainers of the “Wagner” mercenary group or the “Akhmat” private military unit of Chechnya passed the initial training.
One of the sources told “Sistema” that “Gladiator” suffered heavy losses because it was sent to the most difficult battles. One Gladiator fighter says the union lost 60 percent of its members in three months of heavy fighting last fall. This number only includes the dead and wounded; missing and captured are not included. There is also evidence that “Gladiator” has been released since the beginning of this year, and the surviving soldiers have been assigned to other units.
In June last year, Major General Ivan Popovsent a voice message to his soldiers and announced that the commander of the 58th army was removed from his post. His appeal was shared on Telegram by member of ruling United Russia Party, MP Andrey Gurulyov. Gurulyov was the deputy commander of the Southern Military District of Russia in 2016-19.
“Sistema” revealed that “Gladiator” was a part of the 58th army with the documents it investigated.
Voice message from General Spartacus
The general, whose fighting name is “Spartak”, said in his voice message that he was relieved of his duties after he complained to the military command about problematic issues.
The US-based Institute of War Studies reports that Popov told General Valery Gerasimova, Chief of the General Staff, that the frontline soldiers should be replaced by new ones. Shortly after that, he was sent to Syria. Russia has a strong military presence in Syria.
Instead of Popov, lieutenant general Denis Lyamin The commander of the 58th army was appointed. Young general Lyamin was one of the employees of the Ministry of Defense who signed the document on “Sturm Z”. Separate fragments of that document were published on the “IStories” platform last October. “Sistema” has obtained the full version of this document dated February 2023. This document is about the creation of attack groups made up of prisoners. The document authorizes commanders to shoot soldiers who disobey orders or leave their positions without permission “in order to maintain order.”
Radio Liberty