This Can’t Be a Coincidence

You know the war isn’t going well for you when it’s getting hard to keep track of all of the high-ranking officers that are being killed.

Today we look at the late Russian Colonel Alexander Bespalov, age 42. He was officially the ninth Russian colonel to die in combat operations in Ukraine. By comparison, Russia lost five colonels during its 10-year campaign in Afghanistan.

Many of the nine are thought to have been taken out after moving close to the front lines in an attempt to shore up failing morale among soldiers. In doing so, they met with far deadlier resistance than they had been warned to expect.

Ukraine’s ability to target such commanders, meanwhile, is said to be because the invading army has been using unencrypted communication channels, thereby easily exposing their location to western intelligence.

Online sources state that Bespalov’s remains were found in a pile of dead bodies at a hospital. Other than the fact that he was killed in combat, details of his death remain sketchy.

Bespalov was in charge of the 59th Guards Tank Regiment, which faced massive losses on the battlefield. He was given a funeral in the Russian city of Ozersk on April 8th.

Bespalov is shown here front and center in a memorial photo of Russian soldiers from the Chelyabinsk region who have died in the war with Ukraine. The youngest was just 19 years old. Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, Vk.com, Polina Avdoshina

Remembrance

Memories of the colonel were shared on a now-deleted announcement of his funeral posted on an online forum in the Ozersk region named “Overheard Novogorny.” 

One such tribute was from the colonel’s sister: “It is impossible to put into words what pain you feel when you lose a close and dear person. Dear brother, you will always be alive in our hearts.”