The winter will be cold and harsh, even for the Russian soldiers at the front. They are short of equipment, food and water – but the commanders don’t seem to care, as evidenced by an overheard phone call from a Russian soldier. The conversation was published by the Ukrainian secret service. It should prove how chaotic conditions are within Putin’s troops.
In a conversation with a relative, the Russian soldier reveals that they rarely get food and that the weather conditions also cause them problems. “Everything sinks into the mud, we are completely soaked,” he scolds. But lighting a warm campfire would be far too dangerous, as the flames would immediately tell the Ukrainians where they were. “We can’t make a fire. Today we did one, the shells flew right away.” So the soldiers have to hold out in the cold.
Commanders hide in “warm rooms”
“Nobody cares how we are,” the soldier complains. But the commanders really piss him off. His superiors cared nothing for their subordinates. “No one is helping us,” he laments.
The commanders keep themselves “hundreds of kilometers away from us in warm rooms”, he reports about the situation at the front. “And then they give us idiotic orders,” he says angrily. So it says: «’Attack!” There is a minefield ahead of us. They’re idiots.” The soldier doesn’t even know where they are. Somewhere on the battlefield, far from civilization.
“Nobody Wants to Fight”
At the same time, the commanders’ statements make him hateful. “They tell us to persevere because we would all suffer under the same circumstances,” he continues. “But in reality the circumstances are very different. They’re all in three-story bunkers and we’re covered in cellophane.”
The bad conditions eat away at the soldiers and their morale. The men were exhausted. “No one wants to fight. Everyone has had enough,” the soldier reveals to his relatives. And: “Everyone is looking for ways to get out of here.” But it’s not that easy. “People run away, but they are brought back. Desertion has serious consequences in Russia. Soldiers have repeatedly complained in the past about being held illegally or being forcibly returned to the front. (jwg)