BY
Some Russian soldiers in Ukraine have been rebelling against their generals or teetering on the edge of rebellion, according to calls Ukraine says it has intercepted from Russian troops and commanders. Above, a Russian soldier stands guard at the Luhansk power plant in the town of Shchastya on April 13, 2022.
ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Some Russian soldiers in Ukraine have been rebelling against
their generals, or teetering on the edge of rebellion and taking active steps
aimed at halting the offensive, according to calls Ukraine says it has
intercepted from Russian troops and commanders.
The
Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) frequently shares findings from the
purportedly intercepted calls on its website, many of which demonstrate
discontent and poor treatment of troops from the Russian
command. Russia has not publicly confirmed the content of any of the
alleged intercepted calls.
The supposed brewing rebellions among Russian soldiers in recent weeks highlight reports that the nation's troops are suffering from low morale. Additionally, while different groups and leaders have reported varying numbers of Russian troop losses, some counts claim more than 20,000 Russian soldiers have been killed. NATO estimated in late April up to 15,000 Russian troops had been killed.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during an address Saturday that Russia has lost more than 23,000 soldiers in the conflict.
"The Russian command is well aware that
thousands more Russian soldiers will be killed and thousands more will be
wounded in the coming weeks," he added.
Coupled with what a
Defense Department official described on Monday as "minimal" progress
in Donbas more than two months into the war and indications that Russian forces have a risk and casualty aversion, the
circumstances many Russian troops are experiencing may not facilitate high
spirits.
The SSU reported Monday that it intercepted a call in which a
Russian soldier in Ukraine allegedly told an acquaintance back in Russia about
their refusal to begin a new offensive in Ukraine's Kharkiv region.
In the call, which the SSU said it intercepted near Izium in the
Kharkiv region, the soldier allegedly said: "In short, we refused to take
part in this sh*t, get it? And they treat us here really tough in general,
almost to the point of execution. We want to leave, but they don't let us. He
says: 'We were told to shoot you.'"
The SSU said that when the soldier was asked why they refused,
he answered: "Well, they send us directly to the front line, to real hell.
There we're cannon fodder... There is just the artillery... and to go under the
artillery fire – it's a f**king suicide."
Other purported intercepted calls or messages reported by the
SSU since the start of the war demonstrate similar sentiments among Russian
soldiers.
In an April 28 report, the SSU detailed text messages it said
were sent by a commander in a Russian regiment fighting near Izium.
The commander said that his soldiers were "very
scared" and "tired out," so much so that he "can't get them
up morally or physically."
"I even shoot some. And to no avail," the SSU quoted
the commander as saying.
"Everyone here is completely demoralized. There are 10 to
15 people left in the companies at best. About 60 young servicemen have been
added... half of them are cowards, dammit, and panickers," he added.
In another telephone conversation, the SSU said it intercepted,
a Russian soldier in Ukraine allegedly told his brother back in Russia about
how commanders ordered them to shoot civilians and threatened them with a
criminal case for desertion if they left their posts.
The SSU said the soldier's brother suggested he shoot the
commanders, but the soldier objected because he would have to write a
"whole volume" of statements to the Russian military prosecutor's
office.
Another call reported by the SSU featured a Russian soldier, who
allegedly refused to carry out orders, speaking to his mother. The soldier said
that he is tired of "sitting and watching us being beaten and doing
nothing in response." He added that about 90 percent of his colleagues, a
group he said numbered about 150, had refused to go on a new offensive.
The
SSU has reported at least one instance of Russian soldiers purposefully breaking
their equipment so that they cannot fight against Ukrainian forces.
"We have one tank left in the regiment. So, we ourselves
broke our tank in the morning not to go [to battle]," a Russian soldier
said in a call with his father, according to the SSU.
Several SSU reports have also indicated that some Russian
soldiers are considering harming themselves to be sent home from Ukraine. In a
call listed on April 30, a Russian soldier allegedly mulled whether he should
"hammer" a shrapnel fragment into his leg so that he can return to
Russia.
In response, the soldier's girlfriend suggested he shoot himself
in the leg instead, but the soldier later concluded that a self-inflicted wound
would not work.
Newsweek reached
out to Russia's Defense Ministry and the SSU for comment.
https://www.newsweek.com/russian-soldiers-ukraine-rebel-against-their-generals-1703189
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