Image used for representational purpose. AFP
Dogs on the battlefield? That’s what the deputy for the Communist Party in the Russian town of Oryol had in mind.
In a bid to address Russia’s animal homelessness problem, Viktor Makarov put forth the idea of strapping dogs with explosives in a recent session at the Legislative Assembly, according to Orel Times.
These dogs, known as ‘suicide bombers’, would have been released in various parts of Ukraine to “blow up tanks”.
However, the idea did not appeal to his colleagues who said it had logistical and financial problems.
Let’s take a closer look at the bizarre plan that has caught the attention of many analysts all over the world.
The man with a plan
As mentioned before, the plan was a brainchild of a deputy of the Communist Party in Oryol, Viktor Makarov, who said that deploying homeless dogs has two-pronged benefits. First, it would bolster Russian forces and second it would also treat the problem of animal homelessness in the country.
In a Legislative Assembly meeting held on Friday, Makarov, while discussing a bill on making local governments better, said that they should be given the authority to deal with stray animals.
He said according to Express UK, “I propose to educate these dogs to blow up tanks.”
The proposed idea did not sit right with Makarov’s colleagues. Some other parties flagged concerns about various logistical issues related to the training of stray dogs to become suicide bombers.
For instance, Oleg Koshelev, the deputy speaker of the regional parliament questioned the chances of sterilised dogs not biting people. Meanwhile, Deputy Andrei Frolov had questions about the financial costs of sheltering homeless animals on a daily basis. Getting no response to the questions that were posed before Koshelev, the proposed law was discarded.
To deal with the menace of stray dogs, Makarov had previously suggested stray dogs be sent to China.
The managing editor of Meduza – a Russian magazine – Kevin Rothrock took to Twitter to talk about the news.
“A Communist deputy in Russia’s Oryol region wants to train stray dogs to run at Ukrainian tanks as suicide bombers,” he wrote.
A former commanding general of the US Army, Mark Hertling said on Twitter, “Don’t know why they see the need to train dogs to do this…they currently are asking RU soldiers to do the same.”
Is it a sign of weakness?
According to a report by Newsweek, the director of the Grand Strategy program at Defence Priorities, Rajan Menon hinted that the proposed idea “may be further evidence that the Russians are pulling out all the stops to prevail” in the ongoing war with Ukraine in the wake of its dwindling military power.
Furthermore, a recent report issued by the Institute of the Study of War (ISW) suggests that Russia is now capitalising on the West’s desire to negotiate. The report said, “Russian President Vladimir Putin held an hour-long telephone conversation with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on December 2 in which Putin falsely stated that Western financial and military aid to Ukraine creates a situation in which the Ukrainian government outright rejects talks between Moscow and Kyiv and called upon Scholz to reconsider Germany’s approach regarding developments in Ukraine.”
Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin‘s spokesperson, said that Russia will continue with its “special military operation” even though President Joe Biden presses for the removal of Russian forces from Ukraine as a precondition for negotiations.
Dog bombers in World War II
Using dogs in combat is not a new concept in Russia.
During the Second World War, the Soviet army deployed dogs to bring down German tanks, according to a report by Medium.
The army adopted a two-step training program for the canines. As a first step, the dogs were instructed to carry bomb parcels and drop them below German tanks, pull the trigger and run away. However, it was soon found out that training like this needed more time and expertise.
The second step involved hungry dogs who were placed in cages following which food items were placed underneath a tank. This methodology helped the dogs to associate food with the bottom of the tank.
To ensure that the dogs were not afraid of a battlefield, the Soviet army simulated war-like scenarios. As soon as a dog reached the bottom of the tank, the bomb was set off using a remote or a timer.
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republic claimed at the time that the idea of the dog bomb was a huge success and that by employing this method, the Soviet army was able to destroy as many as 300 German tanks.
With inputs from agencies
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