WESTERN PERSPECTIVE
U.S. Colonel Training Zelensky Forces Accuses Soldiers of War 'Atrocities'
Andrew Milburn, a retired U.S. Marine colonel who spent months in Ukraine helping to train President Volodymyr Zelensky's forces, said during a recent interview that while most Ukrainian soldiers were professional, he did see some commit "atrocities."
Milburn is the founder and CEO of The Mozart Group, a company composed mainly of former special operations soldiers that has provided services to Ukraine ranging from frontline training to medical evacuation and casualty care. Milburn named the company as a direct counterpoint to the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary outfit named for another famous composer.
Max Blumenthal, founder of The Grayzone website, posted a clip to Twitter on Monday of Milburn speaking last month on The Team House podcast.
The video, which was originally posted in full on the podcast's YouTube channel, shows Milburn continuing to express his support for Ukraine, saying working there has left him with a sense of purpose. However, he also called the country a "corrupt" society.
"I'm not a big fan of Ukraine," he said of the government. "I care deeply about its people. I care deeply about the Ukrainian soldiers."
Milburn seemed to mainly take issue with what he said were Ukrainians filming prisoners of war, though he also suggested he had possibly seen worse offenses.
"For the most part, they don't commit atrocities," Milburn said. "You shouldn't kill dudes who surrendered...and there was plenty of that. There's all kinds of atrocities to go around."
Before his time in Ukraine, Milburn spent more than 30 years in the Marines and completed tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2020, he published his memoir, When the Tempest Gathers, that chronicles his time on battlefields around the world.
Blumenthal tweeted that during The Team House interview "the craft bourbon flowed" while Milburn spoke with hosts Dave Parke and Jack Murphy. Blumenthal hints that intoxication played a part in Milburn veering "to paint a much darker picture of what he saw in Ukraine."
During the two-hour-plus conversation, Milburn also discussed war tactics and praised the Ukrainians for their knowledge of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), saying they should be provided with "more advanced European and U.S drones."
Milburn also discussed Russian President Vladimir Putin and said Russia isn't suffering from reported battleground setbacks as much as people might think.
"I think it's very easy to dismiss Putin as being insane," Milburn said. "There's a method to his madness."
RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE
Ukraine run by ‘f****d up people’ – US instructor
Ukraine should not be placed on a pedestal in the West’s attempts to support the country in its conflict with Russia. That's according to Andrew Milburn, founder of the ‘Mozart Group’, which has been providing training for Kiev’s forces.
The retired Marine commander shared his experience and conclusions from working in Ukraine during an appearance on the Team House podcast last month. Attention to the video, which had only amassed some 20,000 views since it was posted, was drawn by Grayzone editor Max Blumenthal on Monday.
During the podcast, Milburn stated that Ukraine is a “corrupt, f****d-up society.”While he stressed that continued Western support for the country was important and justified by the need to uphold “global norms,” he suggested that the whole point was “not about Ukraine.”
“I have a Ukrainian flag tied to my bag, but I’m not like ‘oh my God, Ukraine is so awesome,’ because I understand that there are plenty of f****d up people running Ukraine,” Milburn said, admitting that he’s really “not a big fan” of the country.
He also stated that “a number of things” that Kiev’s forces do with Russian POWs violate the Hague convention on the laws of armed conflict, especially when it comes to filming interrogations of captured Russian soldiers and posting them online.
Milburn noted that the trainers from Mozart Group don’t condone such acts and have always tried to distance themselves from any unit that showed them videos of killing Russian POWs. “We’ve been shown those videos plenty of times,” he said, adding that “there were plenty” of atrocities being committed by Ukrainian forces and “all kinds of atrocities to go around.”
He did stress, however, that most of the groups his trainers have dealt with were “very professional” and did not resort to such acts.
While Milburn’s Mozart Group claims charity status, it is considered to be among the largest private military companies currently working in Ukraine and has been providing military training to Ukrainian soldiers since the early days of the conflict. However, it has also been the source of several damning reports on the dark underbelly of Kiev’s armed forces.
Back in August, Milburn was quoted by CBS news in a since-deleted report that revealed how Western-supplied weapons were disappearing in Ukraine and popping up on the black market. Recently, he was also quoted by Newsweek in a report revealing that the Ukrainian military was seeing casualty rates of 70% or more, contrary to official Kiev’s claims.
** Russian top brass reveals 950 multiple rocket launchers destroyed in Ukraine operation
Russian forces have wiped out 950 Ukrainian multiple rocket launchers and almost 400 surface-to-air missile systems since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov reported on Wednesday.
"In all, the following targets have been destroyed since the beginning of the special military operation: 352 warplanes, 192 helicopters, 2,734 unmanned aerial vehicles, 399 surface-to-air missile systems, 7,282 tanks and other combat armored vehicles, 950 multiple launch rocket systems, 3,737 field artillery guns and mortars," the spokesman said.
The Russian Armed Forces have also destroyed 7,792 special military motor vehicles since the beginning of the special military operation in Ukraine, the general added.
Russian forces eliminated over 30 Ukrainian troops and military hardware in the Kharkov Region in the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the Kupyansk area, over 30 Ukrainian troops, three combat armored vehicles and two motor vehicles were destroyed as a result of strikes delivered on the Ukrainian army’s units in areas near the settlements of Sinkovka, Timkovka and Kislovka in the Kharkov Region," the spokesman said.
Russian forces eliminated over 170 military personnel of four Ukrainian army brigades in the Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics in the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the Krasny Liman area, artillery fire struck four company tactical groups of the Ukrainian army’s 25th airborne, 80th and 95th air assault brigades and also 103rd territorial defense brigade in areas near the settlements of Novolyubovka and Nevskoye in the Lugansk People’s Republic, Terny in the Donetsk People’s Republic and also the Serebryansky forestry," the spokesman said.
As a result, Russian forces destroyed over 170 Ukrainian troops, two armored personnel carriers and four pickup trucks, the general said.
Russian forces eliminated over 80 Ukrainian troops in the Donetsk area in the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the Donetsk area, over 80 Ukrainian servicemen, one tank, four combat armored vehicles and five motor vehicles were destroyed in the past 24 hours as a result of damage inflicted by firepower and active operations of Russian troops," the spokesman said.
Russian forces eliminated over 70 Ukrainian troops and foreign mercenaries near Ugledar in the Donetsk People’s Republic over the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In the southern Donetsk area, damage was inflicted on units of the Ukrainian army’s 72nd mechanized brigade and also foreign mercenaries near the city of Ugledar in the Donetsk People’s Republic. Over 70 Ukrainian troops and mercenaries, five combat armored vehicles and two pickup trucks were destroyed," the spokesman said.
Russian forces obliterated two US-made M777 howitzers and a German-made FH70 howitzer in the Donetsk People’s Republic that had been shelling Donetsk residential areas, Konashenkov reported.
"In the counter-battery warfare, two M777 artillery systems of US manufacture and a German-made FH70 howitzer that had been shelling residential areas in the city of Donetsk were obliterated at firing positions near the community of Krasnogorovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the spokesman said.
In the area of the city of Seversk, Russian forces wiped out three Ukrainian Grad multiple rocket launchers, the general added.
Russian forces eliminated a Ukrainian subversive group in the Donetsk People’s Republic in the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"A Ukrainian subversive/reconnaissance group active in the area of the community of Vladimirovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic was eliminated," the spokesman said.
Russian forces struck five Ukrainian command posts and an ammunition depot in the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"Russian missile troops and artillery struck five Ukrainian army command posts in areas near the settlements of Dvurechnaya in the Kharkov Region, Yampolovka, Kirovo, Artyomovo and Novosyolka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, and also 72 artillery units at firing positions, manpower and military equipment in 97 areas. In the area of the settlement of Gulyaipole in the Zaporozhye Region, a depot of armaments and military hardware was destroyed," the spokesman said.
Russian forces wiped out three Ukrainian howitzers in the Kharkov and Kherson Regions and the Donetsk People’s Republic in the past day, Konashenkov reported.
"In areas near the settlements of Petropavlovka in the Kharkov Region, Berestovoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic and Chernobayevka in the Kherson Region, three Ukrainian Msta-B howitzers were obliterated," the spokesman said.
In addition, Ukrainian D-20 and D-30 howitzers were destroyed near the communities of Georgiyevka and Maryinka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, the general added.
Newsweek/RT
