The Ukrainians report (UNIAN) that Russian “Barrier Troops” have been shooting retreating Russian soldiers.
...an insectoid alien race in the StarCraft games who achieve victory in battle through the use of overwhelming numbers. When used to describe a real person, a Zerg is someone who employs this same tactic, and zerging is the act of doing so.
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The word Zerg is mostly used by gamers, as opposed to the prevalence of the similar expression Zerg rush, which has become more mainstream. However, these terms are subtly different. While using superior numbers to gain advantage on an individual is a Zerg rush, a gamer who employs this tactic is a Zerg.
A human wave attack, also known as a human sea attack,[1] is an offensive infantry tactic in which an attacker conducts an unprotected frontal assault with densely concentrated infantry formations against the enemy line, intended to overrun and overwhelm the defenders by engaging in melee combat. The name refers to the concept of a coordinated mass of soldiers falling upon an enemy force and sweeping them away with sheer weight and momentum, like an ocean wave breaking on a beach.
How do you make the zergs actually attack? Because at some deep level, they don’t want to. This is where we find the “Barrier Troops.”
Barrier troops, blocking units, or anti-retreat forces are military units that are located in the rear or on the front line (behind the main forces) to maintain military discipline, prevent the flight of servicemen from the battlefield, capture spies, saboteurs and deserters, and return troops who flee from the battlefield or lag behind their units.
According to research by Jason Lyall, barrier troops are more likely to be used by the militaries of states that discriminate against the ethnic groups that comprise the state's military.[1]
Barrier troops shooting retreating Russians (warning very graphic drone footage):
Newsweek continues:
"Due to low morale [Newsweek link] and reluctance to fight, Russian forces have probably started deploying 'barrier troops' or 'blocking units,'" the MoD wrote at the time. "These units threaten to shoot their own retreating soldiers in order to compel offensives and have been used in previous conflicts by Russian forces."
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The presence of Russian "barrier troops" in Ukraine was previously reported [Newsweek link] by the U.K.'s Ministry of Defense (MoD) last November.
This isn’t new. Prigozhin has previously threatened to shoot deserters as he accused Russian Military leadership of being incapable of defending its country.
Russian soldiers are deserting their positions in Bakhmut, the head of the Wagner mercenary group [Prigozhin] has claimed as he told the Kremlin that Moscow was incapable of defending its country.
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"Today one of the units of the defence ministry fled from one of our flanks... exposing the front," Mr Prigozhin said in a video.
This adds a new element to the counteroffensive — if Ukraine can force the Russians to kill their own zergs in sufficient numbers, that also helps color the battlefield. Once the zergs are gone, Ukraine can bring a heavy assault against the actual defenses, the so called “dragon’s teeth” speed bumps.
Kos and Mark were right, Russia culminated in Bakhmut.