1/ The shattered battlefields of eastern Ukraine are haunted by Russian deserters, hiding in abandoned dugouts and living off the land (or robbing supply convoys). A Russian account gives an insight into the shadowy existence of the soldiers who've had enough of the war. ⬇️
2/ Military volunteer Nikolai Gavrilov writes: "Regarding the search for those missing in action. In short: In Toretsk, evacuation—to put it mildly—is difficult. It’s not happening. 3/ "The chances that the people we’ve been searching for for over a year are still alive are extremely slim. But there is still a chance. At least a small percentage. Over in the Pokrovsk direction, at Lyman, there are still many survivors. They’re hiding there among the trees. 4/ "His family has already buried him at home, the compensation payments have already arrived, but he’s sitting in an abandoned dugout, his face overgrown with a beard, and he knows nothing. 5/ "There are those who decide from the start to desert the assault and go AWOL; informants sell them escape routes (this happens, too). There are people who are completely broken, and they’re truly to be pitied. 6/ "There are scum—hardened criminals—who might attack supply convoys. Those are being mopped up. It’s the end of the earth—anything can happen. 7/ "Many simply lose contact while hopping from plantation to plantation, get wounded, and then survive, alone or in pairs, however they can. Some latch onto their allies and fight alongside them. And some, after spending half a year AWOL, return to their unit on their own. 8/ "We treat them normally. What’s the point of all this? It's about hope. As long as there’s no body, we keep searching for the living. By every means available." /end Source: t.me