Russia loses its first GRU military intelligence spy as the toll on Putin's forces rises

Alexey Glushchak Image Credit

Russia has revealed that it has lost its first GRU military intelligence spy in the Ukraine conflict.

On Monday, it was also announced that two elite paratrooper intelligence operatives had been killed, raising the death toll for Vladimir Putin's army.

Captain Alexey Glushchak, a 31-year-old GRU spy from Tyumen, Siberia, died in the devastation in the Ukrainian port of Mariupol, although the Russians have not revealed how he died.

"The circumstances of the death of the Tyumen hero are not known due to the strict secrecy of the military operation," a statement said.

The GRU was responsible for the Novichok poisoning of its former spy Sergei Skripal, who had defected to Britain, in Salisbury in 2018.

Glushchak's funeral in Russia, where he was buried with full military honors and a guard of honor, was captured on camera.

It was revealed that the military intelligence officer had spoken to both his wife and mother in Russia on the day he died.

He called to wish them a happy International Women's Day, but later that day, in the evening, they learned he had been murdered.

He will be honored posthumously.

Georgy Dudorov, deputy commander of the 137th regiment of the 106th Tula Guards Airborne Division's reconnaissance company for military-political activity, was also killed.

According to the report, "a column from his company came under artillery bombardment from Ukrainian nationalist detachments, and, facing danger, he honorably discharged his military duty to the Fatherland, incurring grave wounds."

Aleksey Aleshko, a graduate of the famous Ryazan Guards Higher Airborne School, was another paratrooper intelligence officer slain.

The senior lieutenant died rescuing "hundreds of lives of his comrades," according to Tula governor Alexey Dyumin, a former loyal bodyguard to Putin who was promoted to political office.

The deaths coincide with the first outpourings of rage and dismay over the number of coffins now returning to Russia, despite the fact that those officially acknowledged as having died in Ukraine are seen as a small fraction of the total number, which best estimates suggest now numbers in the 'tens of thousands.'

Moscow has not provided an up-to-date figure of those killed in the war and has only named a few of the fallen, including numerous generals.

A funeral was held for the 31-year-old GRU captain / east2west news

Many of the funerals being covered in the media right now are for troops killed around the end of February.

Russia is taking two weeks or more to transfer their bodies back to families, many of whom reside in the Russian Far East, thousands of kilometers away from the deadly conflict zone.

An increasing number of nasty and distraught social media messages demonstrate sorrow.

"When is this going to stop, we're seeing coffins virtually every day?" one asked.

"Why did we need to put our soldiers into this hell?" another questioned.

Corporal Danil Novolodsky, 24, a senior gunner on an air assault artillery unit, was also laid to rest.

He was given the Order of Courage by a decree issued by Russia's president.

He was from Ulan-Ude, the capital of the Siberian republic of Buryatia, a predominantly Buddhist territory that has had a disproportionate number of Russian servicemen killed in Ukraine.

Tens of thousands of troops were deployed west on the Trans-Siberian Railway ahead of the invasion to fight in the imminent battle.

Vladimir Plekhanov, 24, an orphan educated by a living foster family, was also laid to rest in the same place.

According to reports, Sagyndyk Kudaibergenov, 22, of Tyumen, was buried with military honors, just like the GRU agent.

After deploying communications equipment across a river, he was killed by mortar fire. He died on February 26th, but his funeral was held on March 11th.

Source: EastWest News