A Russian soldier has been overheard in a phone call to his wife describing the hellish conditions he and his unit are facing on the front lines, describing horrific losses in failed assaults on Ukrainian positions and a crippling lack of basic supplies.
In the intercepted call published by Ukraine's Military Intelligence Directorate (HUR), the man describes losing 100 men “in a few days.”
"The assault failed. Everything is in the s**t, everyone was killed," he says.
The soldier’s location is not disclosed but Russia has been suffering extremely heavy losses in its so far failed attempts to take the town of Avdiivka.
The Russian military in fighting around Avdiivka likely suffered its worst combat losses since mid-February, and by some measures suffered one of Moscow’s worst battlefield defeats of the war thus far.
“Everything that we occupied, they (Ukrainians) have already recaptured," the soldier says.
He then goes on to complain that the Russian military command hasn’t delivered food or water to its troops in weeks.
“We haven't had food delivered to us for three weeks. We haven't had food delivered to us for three weeks,” he says.
“Today is already the seventh day since we have been brought water.”
He then says he is so weak that he can no longer wear his heavy bulletproof vest.
“F**k it! I'm already taking off my bulletproof vest, I don't have the strength to wear it. What's the difference, it is senseless. The wounded soldiers are not taken out anyway," he says.
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"And the dead are lying in the field, they are not taken away because it is impossible to take them away."
The soldier’s comments echo other reports from Russian sources coming from Avdiivka – last week a Russian volunteer pleaded for followers to donate body bags for Kremlin soldiers assaulting Avdiivka, saying that there’s “a horrible deficit.”
The soldier then bemoans the lack of help from Kremlin authorities, saying: “Nothing is being done, nobody gives a f**k! Nobody gives a s**t at all.
“They don't give a s**t about us and don't give a s**t about the offensive.
"That's all. I'm hungry and thirsty, f**k. That's the whole war. The army of the country, the f**king army of the people. The army resembles the country."
Ukrainian soldiers defending the frontline city of Avdiivka are bracing for a new "massive attack," after Russian forces threw their might at it earlier this month but failed to break though.
Major Maxim Morozov, a commander of a special police unit in the city, said on Thursday: "We have to expect more attacks."
"We know that the Russians have amassed huge reserves – both in personnel and military equipment," he told AFP in Pokrovsk, around 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Avdiivka.
Morozov said the huge Russian attack was a "shock to everyone".
"There were up to 50 air strikes," on the city that day, he said. Yuriy Shtepa, 55, was in a trench northwest of the city as the Russians advanced.
"We quickly knew that (Russian) military equipment was arriving. We could hear it five to seven kilometres (three to four miles) away," said Shtepa, who leads a fire support group in a brigade of Ukraine's territorial defence forces.
Though the intercepted call has not been verified, analysis of such conversations by Ukraine’s intelligence services indicates that Russia’s military finds itself in a dire situation in the face of Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive.
Previous calls include:
- '150,000 Men Will Be Thrown In’ – Russian Soldier Reveals Fears of ‘Huge’ Ukrainian Crimea Liberation Force
- 'We Lost 600 Men’ – Russian Reveals Horrific Losses and Behavior On Frontlines
- ‘All Our Guys Were Slaughtered’ – Intercepted Phone Calls Suggest Huge Russian Losses
- ‘He Started Shooting Us!’ – Intercepted Phone Call Reveals Russian Friendly Fire Incident
- ‘We’ll Tear You Apart’ – Ukrainian Soldiers Are Trolling Russian Commanders on Telegram
- ‘War Until 2026’ - Russian Soldier Claims He’s Been Told To Expect 3 More Years of Fighting
- ‘Trucks Full of Corpses’ – Intercepted Phone Call Suggests Massive Wagner Losses
- ‘All Our Boys Are Rotting’– Intercepted Phone Call Suggests Heavy Russian Causalities Near Antonivsky Bridge
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Comments (2)
Some professional journalist, with UA's support, should try to collect the IDs of 50 or 100 random dead Russians who died in these recent meat attacks, and research each soldier's personal story. Interview their friends, family, and former work colleagues. Learn their home town, their dreams, their beliefs, how they came to find themselves in that massacre, what were their final messages home. Learn how their friends, parents and family feel about the news. Do they blame Putin, or are they bought into the big lies as well? The people of the world need to see this. The Russian people need to see this. Yes, I celebrate dead invaders on Ukranian soil - shame on them for ever thinking this was a sensible idea to harm innocent Ukrainians for no reason at all. Shame on them for buying into Putin's lies. Shame on them for not surrendering, or deserting, or shooting their commanders in the head when they're ordered into a meat assault, or for not sabotaging their own equipment. But at the same time, I see these these dead soldiers as victims of circumstance. I'll bet there aren't many dead rich kids out there. No Oligarch kids. Probably a lot of down on their luck victims of the Russian system, or exploited minorities, or poor kids that can't afford a bucket to p*ss in. Hate them, yes, kill them yes, but let's not lose humanity either.
I remember at the start an older woman giving a Russian occupier some sunflower seeds to put in his pocket for something good to grow from his future rotting corpse. Wonder if they've sprouted yet.