The Truth About Russia’s Storm-Z Suicide Squads in Ukraine

The concept of the Storm-Z units in Russia’s military operations in Ukraine presents a grim and controversial aspect of the conflict. These units, often described as ‘suicide squads’, consist of convicts, drunkards, insubordinates, and some volunteers, thrust into the most perilous and deadly missions without adequate training, equipment, or support.

Recruitment and Composition of Storm-Z Units

Russia’s Storm-Z units represent a significant shift in the country’s military strategy in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. These units are unique not only in their composition but also in their operational role within the Russian military framework.

Composition: The Storm-Z units are comprised of a mix of individuals, including convicts, regular soldiers disciplined for infractions, and volunteers. Convicts like Artyom Shchikin joined these units to clear their criminal records and earn money for their families. They were promised wages and a potential pardon in exchange for their service. Regular soldiers, on the other hand, were transferred to these units as a form of punishment for various forms of indiscipline, such as being drunk on duty or refusing to obey orders. This composition of the Storm-Z units marks a departure from Russia’s previous military approach, where private military companies like the Wagner Group enlisted convicts to serve on the frontline. Unlike Wagner, the Storm-Z units are directly under the command of the Russian defense ministry.

Operational Role: The Storm-Z units are often deployed to the most dangerous parts of the front, both in defense and in attack. They are seen as expendable infantry, strategically used to preserve more valuable troops. These units face extremely high casualty rates and are often poorly supplied and neglected, with little access to basic necessities like food, water, or ammunition. This lack of support only exacerbates their already high likelihood of becoming casualties of war.

The Russian government has not publicly acknowledged the existence of these units. However, various reports and interviews with soldiers familiar with the matter point to their deployment and the high risks they face. The casualty rates among these units are notably high, with many soldiers being killed or wounded in intense battles.

Motives and Consequences of Russia’s Strategy

The deployment of Storm-Z units by Russia in the Ukraine conflict reflects a strategic decision that prioritizes certain military objectives over the well-being and lives of the individuals within these units. This strategy, which involves utilizing convicts and disciplined soldiers as expendable infantry, has several motives and consequences.

Motives Behind the Strategy:

1. Strategic Utilization of Manpower: The primary motive behind deploying Storm-Z units is to use them as expendable infantry. This approach allows Russia to preserve its more valuable troops by sending Storm-Z fighters, often with minimal support, to the most dangerous parts of the front, both in defense and in attack.
2. Military Necessity and Expediency: The Storm-Z units are a response to the urgent need for manpower on the frontline, particularly in high-casualty scenarios. By embedding these units within regular army units, Russia can rapidly bolster its forces in critical areas of conflict.

Consequences of the Strategy:

1. High Casualty Rates: The deployment of Storm-Z units has resulted in extremely high casualty rates. For example, one fighter from a Storm-Z unit reported that all but 15 of the 120 men in his unit were killed or wounded in fighting near Bakhmut. This highlights the perilous nature of their missions and the lack of adequate support and resources.
2. Human Rights Concerns: The use of convicts and disciplined soldiers in such a manner raises serious ethical and human rights concerns. It reflects a disregard for the lives and well-being of these individuals, treating them as mere tools of warfare rather than human beings.
3. Questionable Combat Effectiveness: There have been indications that these units have low combat capability, leading to their inefficiency in achieving military objectives. This inefficiency raises questions about the overall effectiveness of this strategy in the long term.
4. Impact on Russian Military Structure and Morale: The use of penal units like Storm-Z can also impact the morale of the regular troops and the broader military structure. It can create divisions and affect the overall cohesion and effectiveness of the military forces.

Wagner Group Rebellion and Internal Conflicts

The Wagner Group rebellion and the involvement of Storm-Z units in it highlight significant internal conflicts and dissent within the Russian military structure. During the rebellion in June 2023, several Storm-Z units pledged their loyalty to the Wagner Group and its leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, who aimed to challenge the Russian military hierarchy. This incident is a clear indicator of the complex dynamics and rifts within Russia’s military and paramilitary forces.

Prigozhin, a prominent figure with close ties to the Russian government, had publicly criticized Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, blaming them for military shortcomings in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He accused them of ceding Russian territories to Ukraine and portrayed the rebellion as a response to an attack on his forces by the ministry. The rebellion led by Prigozhin and his Wagner forces represented a significant domestic security crisis in Russia, with the Wagner Group taking control of Rostov-on-Don and advancing towards Moscow.

After the Wagner Group ended the rebellion and turned around before reaching Moscow, the Storm-Z units that supported them accused Prigozhin of cowardice and betrayal, stating that he had double-crossed them. This turn of events led to punishments being issued by their commanders to these disloyal units.

Conclusion: The existence and deployment of the Storm-Z units in Ukraine underscore a darker facet of warfare, where human rights, military ethics, and the value of human life are brought into question. The international community’s response to these revelations is critical in shaping the future course of the conflict and the pursuit of peace and diplomacy in the region. This situation also raises a broader question about the treatment of soldiers and convicts in conflict zones, challenging us to consider the human cost of war.