Saturday, May 9, 2026 9:30:03 AM

Russian military blogger Yegor Guzenko, known online as “Thirteenth,” has gone missing shortly after he publicly criticized President Vladimir Putin over widespread internet outages. According to posts on Guzenko’s Telegram channel, citing his fellow soldiers, Guzenko was sent on an assault mission after his phone was confiscated. There has been no contact with him since April 27.

A post dated May 8 explains that Guzenko suffered a double leg fracture with displacement while in Avdiivka on March 1. A CT scan in mid-April revealed improper healing of the fibula and that his knee had not healed at all. The channel’s authors suggest that commanders used the mission to get rid of Guzenko.

Further details of Guzenko’s deployment to the front lines emerged on May 9.

“Egor was not allowed to prepare; he was handed only standard gear and a rusty, malfunctioning rifle taken from a fallen soldier. They didn’t even give him his own weapon. In case something irreversible happened, Egor recorded a long video, but we very much hope that no one will ever have to see it,” the post says.

On April 24, Guzenko published a post accusing Putin of lying about the need for internet blackouts to ensure security.

“Comrade Supreme Commander, what you’re saying is a blatant lie. Your shutdowns of mobile and internet connections protect no one; it’s all nonsense. You simply cannot provide safety for our loved ones far from the front while we are fighting, and all your security services are starting to seem useless,” he wrote.

Earlier in 2024, Guzenko had a conflict with the Chechen “Akhmat” unit and its commander, Apti Alaudinov. In October of the same year, the blogger was detained in his hometown of Novopavlovsk, Stavropol region, accused of assault. He was later released from pre-trial detention after signing a contract with the Defense Ministry. Guzenko later stated that he was beaten and tortured following his arrest.

(C)UAWIRE 2026