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Russian Soldier Slams ‘Traitors’ Who Stole His Raccoon.
According to reports, a raccoon that served as the featured image on a well-known military blog associated with Russia’s airborne troops was removed from Ukrainian territory, potentially as a measure to tighten control on comments on Moscow.
(Image by Newsweek90)
For a well-known military blog connected to Russia’s airborne troops was removed from Ukrainian territory, potentially as a measure to tighten control on criticism of Moscow’s war effort.
When Russian soldiers were leaving Kherson Oblast’s west bank in November 2022, they took the animal from a zoo. With the name Hersi, it was adopted as the mascot of “Raccoon from Kherson,” a military blogger’s Telegram account that provided wartime updates and assisted in raising money for Russian military personnel.
The account stated that it had raised more than 20 million rubles ($212,000) for the Russian military, money that was utilized to buy mattresses, generators, and car components. Children were encouraged by the animal to write notes and draw pictures for the military, which raised spirits.
However, the anonymous milblogger’s Telegram account wrote in what seemed to be an emotional post on Saturday to its more than 78,000 followers that Hersi had departed the battle site “without our knowledge” and that “God will be the judge” for those guilty.
The message that stated that the initiative had terminated with “betrayal” also stated that “traitors will always be traitors to everyone.” While it said that forces in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk oblast would still get weaponry purchased with the monies obtained, supporters were asked to make their donations to a separate account.
In addition, the milblogger disclosed that he had to shut his Telegram channel.
The account was updated on Monday stating that “the main thing is that Hersi is doing well” and that there were “more questions than answers… but the truth will triumph.” Since then, a video of the raccoon at an undisclosed location has also been added to the account.
The Russian Ministry of Defense’s attempt to tighten censorship of military bloggers commenting about the conflict may have had something to do with the raccoon’s disappearance, according to the Institute for the Study of conflict (ISW) think tank, which released the following statement on Sunday.
The way in which the Russian government and military commanders have handled the conflict in Ukraine has drawn harsh criticism from certain milbloggers. Igor Girkin, a former military commander and prominent milblogger, was arrested at his residence in July on suspicion of inciting terrorist acts.
In a Facebook post, Serhiy Khlan, an adviser to the Ukrainian Kherson Oblast Military Administration, blasted the Russians for losing the raccoon, claiming that it had previously assaulted Vladimir Saldo, the leader of Kherson Oblast who had been stationed in Moscow.
A number of animals, including wolves, donkeys, and squirrels, were allegedly taken by Russian forces from the Kherson zoo. These instances were extensively covered by Kremlin media agencies as a benefit of their humiliating pullout from the city in November of last year.
One Russian paratrooper adopted a raccoon which became a fixture of the trenches where he was fed a daily diet of fish, nuts and grapes. The animal was the subject of a report on Russian state television in which one Russian soldier spoke of how “he motivates us” and “drives us towards further victories.”
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