1/ A Russian deserter says that 90% of the barely trained men in his unit were killed or seriously wounded within a year, while 'unneeded' men were used as expendable scouts. After being tortured into joining the army, he was sent into assaults while badly wounded himself. ⬇️
2/ The independent Russian media outlet 'We can explain' tells the story of Igor, a Russian ex-convict who was serving a 13.5 year sentence in a penal colony before signing a contract with the Ministry of Defence in January 2025 to go to war in Ukraine. 3/ "I signed it voluntarily, but it was forced," he says. "When a prisoner first arrives at the colony, they undergo a physical interrogation – well, a beating." 4/ He and other convicts spent two weeks doing "basic training" before being sent to the war as a stormtrooper. He describes the experience as "a meat grinder, a mincer. Unnecessary people go first and are watched to see if they can even get through" Ukrainian lines. 5/ He says that during his year of service, more than 100 of the 110 men in his unit were killed or seriously wounded. He was himself severely wounded twice by Ukrainian drone attacks. 6/ "The first time, the FPV drone caught me in the open. I managed to dodge it and jump away, but I suffered severe shrapnel wounds." Despite the injuries, he was sent back to his base after only two days and was sent from there to rejoin the fighting, with unhealed wounds. 7/ He says: "I wanted to show that I was a normal, law-abiding person, that I could be trusted. But no matter how much I tried to curry favor, no matter how much I did, the command promised me mountains of gold, and in the end, I went to the front lines wounded… 8/ …because they ran out of men." He was even more severely wounded subsequently by a drone-dropped bomb. "I'm missing a large portion of the muscle in my leg. I had several surgeries, skin grafts, and probably five months of recovery." 9/ "The doctors said I'd have to have an amputation, but I eventually recovered. I also suffered concussions, a lot of them. They dropped anti-tank mines and RPG shells on my head." 10/ In hospital, he contacted the dissident "Go to the Forest" group, which helps Russians evade conscription and leave the country. He managed to escape from the hospital and made it to another country, where he is currently seeking asylum. 11/ Igor says that nobody at the front supports the war. "No one wants or likes being there; there's simply no choice. Mostly, everyone is from the [penal] colonies." 12/ "The first and most important thing people think about there is staying alive, even if it's not with all their limbs. And the second thing is getting home." /end Source: pointmedia.io