Suicidal thoughts, meaningless orders, bad morale: Russian prisoners of war in Ukraine reported to CNN about the confusion of Russian leadership and the horrors of trench warfare.
Ukrainian troops opened fire on Russian positions
Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has been going on for almost 500 days. Since the beginning of the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, hundreds of thousands of Russian and Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or injured. U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said in early May that more than 20,000 members of the Russian military have been killed in combat since December 2022 alone, citing intelligence information. Another 80,000 people were injured.
Kirby explained that half of those killed belonged to the Wagner mercenary organization. Most of them are ex-prisoners who "went into battle" during the fighting in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut and lack "adequate combat training, combat leadership, or any sense of organizational leadership and control."
Three Russian prisoners of war described to CNN what it was like to be "thrown into battle": Anton, a Russian soldier stationed south of Bakhmut, reported that bullets and grenades "whistled over us for three days before exploding around us" and we jumped like rabbits under mortar shells and bombs.
"We have no fighting spirit"
According to the broadcaster, Anton (as he is actually not called that) was held by Ukrainian forces in a makeshift prison in eastern Ukraine along with seven other prisoners. According to CNN, they interviewed the three before they were handed over to the Ukrainian special services. In view of the guidelines issued by the ICRC on the reporting of prisoners of war, and in order to protect them from possible problems after returning to Russia, the channel did not use their real names.
In front of two Ukrainian soldiers, the three spoke of low morale in the trenches, chaos and the apparent sacrifice of some Russian troops.
Anton said he was jailed in Russia for drug possession, the third time he has been sentenced after being convicted of similar crimes and robbery in the past. He was promised that if he voluntarily went to fight in Ukraine, he would keep a clean record, but he did not know that he would be sent to the front. He and his comrade Slava received only two weeks of basic training before deployment.
Slava admitted to CNN: "We don't have a fighting spirit, we want to hold the line of defense as promised. We were told that Wagner was responsible for hostilities. We will be stationed in the liberated areas. ”
Slava told the broadcaster that when the war broke out, he was serving 10 years in a Russian prison for drug trafficking. He was also promised that if he went to war, his criminal record would be erased. When the two became prisoners of war, he and Anton fled to a bunker.
Anton said that after several days of shelling - there was no food, only rain to drink - Ukrainian soldiers advanced to the bunker. He heard a click and two grenades were thrown in. The depth of the bunker protected him from the explosion. CNN quoted the prisoner of war as saying: "It was quiet for a while, and then they came back. I thought that was the end. He believed he would either be executed or brutally tortured. "I switched my rifle to single-shot mode thinking I was going to shoot myself, but I couldn't."
"Our artillery, as always, did not work"
Sergei, another Russian prisoner of war, told CNN that he had just shouted "I surrender" when two shells landed near him, killing the soldiers next to him in the trenches. His commander has fled.
"I hid in the trenches. Those who tried to run from one position to another were shot down by machine guns and tanks," he recalled. When he saw Ukrainian soldiers, he crawled away in fear, huddled with two soldiers. One of them called on Russian artillery cover by radio before being killed by flying shrapnel.
"Our artillery, as always, did not work," Sergey said. Then the Kremlin troops will use the "Grad" rocket launcher, but they will miss the target again and again. Finally, the Ukrainians came. "I started shouting 'we surrender' and then they threw a grenade at us." He felt a shard hit his hand.
"They asked who I was, I said I was Russian and I was surrendering," Sergei continued. When he wanted to climb out of the ditch, a second grenade flew. "I climbed half out of the trench in a second." The soldier behind him was killed by a grenade and wounded in his leg. According to CNN, a Ukrainian soldier later explained that it was difficult to understand what Russian soldiers were saying during the battle.
According to CNN, unlike Anton and Slava, Sergei is not a Russian prisoner, but a contract soldier. The young father told the broadcaster that he spent his promised time last year in Chelsen, southern Ukraine. Upon his return, military prosecutors threatened him with imprisonment for desertion if he did not return to the battlefield.
Sergey reported that his previous military experience did not prepare him for what awaited him for the "meat grinder" Bakhmut. "It's very different from what I see on TV. This is a parallel reality. I was terrified, pained and disappointed in my commander. ”
Ukraine wants to use Russian prisoners of war for exchange
According to CNN, Anton and Slava shared similar stories. To get food and water, they had to walk five kilometers through a minefield. Their immediate commander is also a criminal. Their commanders use stock painkillers for pleasure. Under the influence of drugs, these commanders send soldiers into mortar fire and give "meaningless orders."
The reports of Anton, Slava and Sergei could not be independently confirmed. One must assume that prisoners of war - even if they voluntarily give interviews - must have taken into account Ukraine's reaction to this when making decisions and making statements. However, according to CNN, the Russians do not appear to have been coerced during the interrogation.
A Ukrainian soldier in charge of a makeshift prison told CNN that he has been receiving Russian prisoners with similar experiences for the past six months, while soldiers captured in combat last year have been proactive. The soldier said that they wanted to exchange Russians for Ukrainian soldiers detained by Kremlin troops, but there is not much hope in this regard. "They are of little value to the Russian government."