Putin Troops Dismantling Russian Missile Systems To Sell Them For Parts: Reports

Reports from Ukrainian authorities on Tuesday claim that Russian troops have been stripping and selling out the missile system units they have on the field in order to avoid battling in the war, as Russia claims that they found weapons left by fleeing Ukrainian troops in the East.

The Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry named and shamed members of a specific Russian infantry troop for selling off the scrap and precious metal parts of its missile system to local workers in the area, according to the Daily Beast.

“In order to avoid going to the frontline, the commanders of a squadron from the 933rd anti-aircraft missile regiment… decided to make their equipment unfit for active service,” the Defense Ministry said, before elaboration that the troops “removed the control units from Tor-M2U [missile systems] and decided to sell them at a collection point for precious metals.”

After they asked for too much money from the local workers, however, they were reported to the law enforcement of the Donetsk People’s Republic. The missile failure ended up getting blamed on active fighting rather than sabotage.

Meanwhile, a video released by the Russian Ministry of Defense shows what they claim to be Western weapons abandoned by fleeing Ukrainian troops in an unknown part of Ukraine, with Russian soldiers showing off the loot that they acquired from the reported fleeing troops, the BBC reported.

“Captured weapons hastily abandoned by the retreating units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” the Ministry of Defense said. “Russian military personnel note that soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine began to increasingly abandon their American 'Javelin' anti-tank missile systems and Swedish-produced NLAW [Next Generation Light Anti-tank Weapon] imported by Western countries due to their bulkiness.”

The Russia-Ukraine war continues on for its 111th day, with an aide to Zelenskyy reporting at one point that 200 Ukrainians are dying every day from the fighting, while Russia has reportedly lost 32,300 soldiers between the beginning of the war and June 13.