# What is the name given to the Russian death squads operating in Ukraine? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Tags:** ukraine-invasion\ **Created:** [April 6, 2022, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-given-to-the-russian-death-squads-operating-in-ukraine/962427 "2022-04-06T23:09:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Octagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/2acd7d/32.png) [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2022, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-given-to-the-russian-death-squads-operating-in-ukraine/962427/1 "2022-04-06T23:09:20Z")
What is the name given to the Russian death squads operating in Ukraine ? What is their composition? Are they all Russian or mercenaires drawn from other countries? ---
**Author:** ![Octagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/2acd7d/32.png) [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2022, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-given-to-the-russian-death-squads-operating-in-ukraine/962427/2 "2022-04-06T23:12:29Z")
I would interested in both the Russian and Ukrainian words for these death squads. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 6, 2022, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-given-to-the-russian-death-squads-operating-in-ukraine/962427/3 "2022-04-06T23:20:15Z")
> [@Octagon](#): > > What is the name given to the Russian death squads operating in Ukraine ? Most likely Pусская Aрмия. I don’t think there are death squads as such. Just some Spetsnaz units getting some time in. ---
**Author:** ![Octagon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/2acd7d/32.png) [@Octagon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Octagon)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-given-to-the-russian-death-squads-operating-in-ukraine/962427/4 "2022-04-07T01:34:50Z")
Thanks Silenus. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-given-to-the-russian-death-squads-operating-in-ukraine/962427/5 "2022-04-07T05:12:39Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Pусская Aрмия. Is that what I think it says phonetically? ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-given-to-the-russian-death-squads-operating-in-ukraine/962427/6 "2022-04-07T06:19:07Z")
I’d imagine there’s no Russian name, since _according to them_ there’s no such thing (or the only approximation to them are Ukrainian Nazis of the Azov battalion operating under a false flag) ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-given-to-the-russian-death-squads-operating-in-ukraine/962427/7 "2022-04-07T06:29:29Z")
In the interviews I’ve seen with Ukrainian civilians describing their experiences (these are very, very hard to watch, but necessary), they seem to distinguish between the groups according to their origin. For example, the Chechen fighters — a particularly brutal and bloodthirsty bunch, who are killing indiscriminately and would be described by outsiders as a death squad — are called “Kadrovyites” or “Kadrovites,” in reference to their warlord leader/organizer. This differentiates them from the Spetsnaz, for example. Obviously I’m going by the translations (dubbed or subtitled), but it seems to be fairly consistent. ---
**Author:** ![jnglmassiv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f07891/32.png) [@jnglmassiv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jnglmassiv)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-given-to-the-russian-death-squads-operating-in-ukraine/962427/8 "2022-04-07T13:54:13Z")
The extent of their involvement in Ukraine is unclear at the moment but the private mercenary force Russia uses at times is called the Wagner Group. This force is useful for dirty operations. [Wagner Group - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagner_Group) ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-given-to-the-russian-death-squads-operating-in-ukraine/962427/9 "2022-04-07T20:01:47Z")
> [@md-2000](#): > > > [@silenus](#): > > > > Pусская Aрмия. > > Is that what I think it says phonetically? My wife, who speaks some Russian, thinks you’re right: Russian Army. ---
**Author:** ![md-2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@md-2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md-2000)\ **Post date:** [April 7, 2022, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-given-to-the-russian-death-squads-operating-in-ukraine/962427/10 "2022-04-07T23:22:38Z")
My first thought when I heard this news was that it was some abberant group like Chechen fighters, or hardened Syrian theatre veterans, or special forces. But recent news reports suggest equally likely is the regular army types, acting sadistic and releasing frustrations on the enemy civilians while drunk to the gills on the pickings looted from the local stores and houses. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-given-to-the-russian-death-squads-operating-in-ukraine/962427/11 "2022-04-08T21:54:25Z")
Well, there was one story in the news that in one of the very early days of the war a woman in a Kyiv suburb saw tanks rumbling down the street that she seems to have assumed were Ukrainian, so she went out to take a look. They killed her on the spot. It was too early for them to have boozed it up. With the bombing attack on a train station in today’s news you have to assume this is deliberate policy. There was a report in the Times yesterday on a telephone with a Russian who son had died in the fighting. He apparently believed that the Ukrainian resistance was fueled entirely by American weapons used to prop up the Nazi regime and thought that a nuclear bomb dropped on an American city would end the war right quick. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-given-to-the-russian-death-squads-operating-in-ukraine/962427/12 "2022-04-08T22:04:42Z")
Wow. That sure illustrates the extent of the disinformation the Russians are being fed. I wonder how many of THEM actually believe it. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 8, 2022, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-given-to-the-russian-death-squads-operating-in-ukraine/962427/13 "2022-04-08T23:18:12Z")
The NBC Evening News has had several reporting segments over the past couple weeks about how Putin’s approval rating is rising along with Russian nationalism. The disinformation seems to be working, sadly. They’ve shown ‘man /woman on the street’ type interviews where ordinary Russian citizens talk about how justified the war is, because of the atrocities the _ **Ukranians** _ have been committing. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2022, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-given-to-the-russian-death-squads-operating-in-ukraine/962427/14 "2022-04-09T04:21:57Z")
If they say otherwise, the consequences may be quite dire. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2022, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-given-to-the-russian-death-squads-operating-in-ukraine/962427/15 "2022-04-09T12:10:24Z")
Unfortunately, I fear it’s not just those Russian citizens toeing the party line, it seems like the disinformation campaign is working. Russian news sources have been claiming that the Ukrainian atrocity footage is staged. NBC News had a piece on how the Russian news programs show footage from Ukraine showing Russian atrocities, but with a big, rubber stamp style word “FAKE” superimposed over it. It’s how people are manipulated in the Information Age— you can’t suppress information, so you freely share it while discrediting it. ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2022, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-name-given-to-the-russian-death-squads-operating-in-ukraine/962427/16 "2022-04-09T14:00:26Z")
Every day a new Guernica: > **[After Russians’ retreat, scarred Ukrainian village recounts month of terror](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/09/after-russians-retreat-scarred-ukrainian-village-recounts-month-of-terror)** > > On a two-day visit, tales emerge of killings and looting by a demoralised invasion force As for names, I’ve seen reports that some Ukrainians are making distinctions between “regular” Russians and “Kadyrovites” (i e., Chechens controlled by [Putin’s tame thug Kadyrov](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/kadyrov-chechen-putin-ukraine-chechnya-b2052357.html)) - though other reports indicate brutality is not unique to any one grouping.