Russian Soldier Who Stole Raccoon Has Raccoon Stolen By Russians

About a year back, as Russians were being fleeing the city of Kherson, they took time from their hectic plan of thieving washing equipment to also steal zoo animals, which include at least a single raccoon who would quickly become well known as a image of Russian propaganda. Well, that animal (named “Hersey”) has now gone lacking all over again.

UPDATE: Apparently, the animal is nonetheless alive.

Considering that then, the account was current with a online video of the raccoon at an unspecified spot and a put up on Monday which explained there were “extra questions than solutions… but the fact will triumph,” and that “the primary factor is that Hersi is accomplishing properly.”

Source: New Voice of Ukraine

A year back, as Russian forces retreated from Kherson in disarray, 1 soldier tried to salvage a little victory from defeat by thieving a raccoon from the town zoo.

Given that then, the poached pet has come to be a symbol across social media of the absurdity of Russia’s invasion.

But now, in a twist mimicking his country’s failures, the kidnapping soldier has discovered his furry trophy was pilfered from him in flip, in accordance to Telegram posts on Oct. 28.

The raccoon was stolen by a person of his assistants, named Roman, the soldier described on the Telegram channel “Raccoon from Kherson,” which the Russians made to manufacture propaganda featuring the stolen animal.

As odd as it seems, the animal was precious to the Russian war effort.

The account claimed to have lifted more than 20 million rubles ($212,000) for Russia’s forces, resources which were being utilised to purchase beds, turbines and spare elements for vehicles. The animal also encouraged kids to send letters and drawings for troopers which boosted morale.

But in what appeared to be a heartfelt Telegram submit on Saturday to its extra than seventy eight,000 followers, the account of the unnamed milblogger stated Hersi had left the scene of the war “without the need of our awareness” and that for these dependable, “God will be the decide.” “Traitors will often be traitors to anyone,” included the publish which stated that the venture had ended with “betrayal.”

And just why would the animal be taken? The Institute for the Examine of War (ISW), a respected American non-profit exploration group and feel tank that typically spends its time detailing moment troop actions in Ukraine, speculates that it could be the Russian Ministry of Defense trying to get to tighten censorship of military bloggers putting up about the war. The raccoon also little bit the Russian-put in puppet mayor of Kherson, Volodymyr Saldo.

A Russian VDV-affiliated milblogger announced on Oct 28 that he was pressured to shut down his Telegram channel, implying that unspecified actors kidnapped the raccoon that the milblogger had been making use of as a mascot to support obtain notoriety and fundraise for Russian forces.[44] The milblogger claimed that the channel generated around twenty million rubles ($212,000) for Russian forces in a 12 months.[45] The raccoon gained fame when Russian forces stole it from a zoo when withdrawing from west (right) lender Kherson Oblast in November 2022.[46] The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) has more and more specific Russian milbloggers in censorship and self-censorship campaigns, and it is doable that MoD-affiliated actors aimed to censor this milblogger.[47] The milblogger claimed that “traitors” abducted the raccoon and remaining occupied Ukraine and recommended that the milblogger may possibly have personally acknowledged who took the animal, nonetheless.[48] Ukrainian Kherson Oblast Army Administration Advisor Serhiy Khlan mentioned that the raccoon had previously attacked Kherson Oblast occupation head Vladimir Saldo and criticized the Russians for dropping the raccoon.[49] ISW is not able independently to ensure studies of the raccoon’s whereabouts or steps.

And if all of this sounds absurd (it is), nicely that is the Russian war in Ukraine. It can be not meant to make feeling.

And the bite.