Russian pro-war nationalist and military blogger, Igor Girkin, claimed on Saturday that Moscow is suffering a lack of crucial watercraft in the Kherson region in eastern Ukraine, calling the situation on the ground "critical."
Writing on Telegram, Girkin—a former Russian commander who is also known as Igor Strelkov—said that Russian authorities in the occupied areas of the Kherson region had started seizing private watercraft—boats and other water vessels—this spring "for the needs of the security forces."
According to Girkin, this move was made necessary by a severe lack of watercraft, which wasn't solved by an attempted solution a year prior, in spring 2022, when "a number of domestic manufacturers of special boats and boats" offered to supply their products "to ensure the safety of the waters of the Kherson region: both the Black Sea and the Dnieper [Russian name for Dnipro]."
Girkin said that "some factories were ready to provide the first boats for free. To no avail," though he doesn't clarify why the factories didn't deliver the boats promised, or why their offer wasn't accepted by Russian authorities.
"Now the issue of providing units with watercraft is not just 'acute'. It is critical: this work seems to have failed," Girkin said.
Despite his support for Russia' invasion of Ukraine, Girkin has become more critical of the Russian military leadership and its approach to the conflict, going as far as recently declaring that Vladimir Putin was not going to win the war.
While Russia maintains a large fleet in the area surrounding Ukraine's strategically located Snake Island, which was retaken during a Ukrainian counteroffensive in summer last year, Kyiv appears to have the upper hand in the Dnipro river, as recently reported by CNN.
Ukraine has developed its own fleet on the river, with old Soviet equipment and civilian vessels modified for combat purposes and additional vessels sent by the U.S. and other allies. According to the U.S. Department of Defense, the U.S. has contributed with "62 coastal and riverine patrol boats" to Ukraine's fleet.
According to Girkin, Russia needs a "small fleet" of about 100 units to defend the left bank of the Dnipro river, with boats with a length of 6 to 8 meters. "Such a boat should be fast, gliding, protected and be able to be equipped with weapons on a modular basis. Such a boat can cost from 50 to 100 million rubles," Girkin wrote. Fifty million rubles equates to around $569,000.
Girkin is calling for an increase in watercraft materiel to allow Russian forces "to control the water area, prevent enemy landings, and also make our landing safer." He added: "Everything seems to be obvious, right?"
In a following post on Telegram, Girkin becomes critical of Russian military equipment, saying that Moscow forces in the Kherson region "use ancient Soviet-built boats or unprepared fishing boats with old engines and leaky sides, while other types of boats are bought with the troops' own money or thanks to the help of volunteers."
According to Girkin, Russian forces are "actively" trying to reinforce their "small fleets," ordering hundreds of watercraft "for billions of rubles."
