Ukraine’s Military Intelligence (HUR) said on Sunday that it had intercepted a call in which a Russian commander threatened his own troops, after they apparently stopped responding in an attempt to avoid being sent to their deaths.
In the recording, published by the HUR on Telegram, the commander angrily accuses his subordinates of ignoring orders and intentionally going out of contact, shouting in Russian: “If you don’t get on the radio right now, you’re f**ked, bitch, understood?”
The same voice continues in an emotional outburst, saying: “Bitch, what kind of Pyatykhatky s**t is this that I’ve run into here, f**king hell” – apparently referring to Pyatykhatky, a frontline village in Ukraine’s southern Zaporizhzhia region that has been devastated by Russia’s full-scale invasion.
“Were you f**king taught this there or what the f**k, or did something bite you there in Pyatykhatky or what, bitch, I didn’t understand a f**king thing, bitch,” the speaker continues.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, the recording indicates that Russian soldiers are increasingly trying to avoid orders that would likely send them to their near-certain deaths.
The commander also threatens his troops with retaliation for their actions, telling them: “You morons, if you f**king don’t get on the radio now, if you don’t get on the radio, you’re f**ked, bitch, understood?”
The intercepted audio points to what Kyiv describes as growing demoralization and fear inside Russian occupying forces, where threats remain the primary method of forcing soldiers to obey orders, the HUR said.
On Feb. 15, the HUR released audio of a similar incident, in which a Russian commander apparently berates his subordinates for refusing to advance.
“What the f**k do you mean ‘refusal’? Move forward, f**king go!” he is heard to say.
Other recently intercepted calls have revealed worsening conditions for the Russian military.
One soldier complained of a lack of basic supplies, which led to Russian troops dying on supply runs, while another admitted that various personnel – including cooks – were being used as infantry during frontal assaults.
In 2023, Kyiv Post interviewed a woman working as a “professional eavesdropper,” listening in on Russian communications intercepted by Ukrainian intelligence. “Maria” – not her real name – said that the “insane” things heard in intercepted calls are, in fact, real despite their often outrageous nature.
“They all are real even though they might seem insane. Sometimes I can’t believe the words I’m hearing myself, but we have what we have,” she said.
Kyiv Post regularly reports on intercepted Russian communications. Some of the most shocking examples include claims of cannibalism, Russian soldiers driving tanks into the countryside in search of vodka, and the chaotic aftermath of the Russian military’s loss of Starlink access.