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According to the NYT, Russian soldiers drafted into the war in Ukraine were told they would not be fought.
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Many were killed quickly after being sent to the front lines with little training and equipment.
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A drafted Russian soldier complained about “the destruction of the Russian people by their own commanders.”
Russian soldiers sent to Ukraine were told by their commanders that they would “never see combat,” only to be killed in battle soon after, according to a new investigation by The New York Times.
In September, about seven months into the war in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the partial mobilization of the country’s military reservists.
Some 300,000 were drafted and given the same status as regular soldiers, Insider previously reported.
Conscripted members of Russia’s 155th Naval Infantry Brigade told The Times their unit was made up of factory workers, truck drivers and a former barista, some of whom had shockingly little experience with firearms.
They were severely short of food and equipment, and had no maps, medical kits, working walkie-talkies, or enough bullets.
However, they said they were not afraid because their commanders assured them that they would not actually fight, according to The Times.
A drafted Russian soldier told the newspaper of a day in October when he witnessed the death of many of his fellow soldiers near the eastern Ukrainian town of Pavlivka. Of his platoon’s 60 members, he said, about 40 were killed, with only eight escaping serious injury.
“This is not war,” Mikhail told the newspaper from a military hospital outside Moscow, “it is the destruction of the Russian people by their own commanders.”
Following the chaotic call-up of Russian conscripts, there were widespread reports of minimal training for the new soldiers, and many were reported to have been killed within weeks of arriving in Ukraine.
The Times’ investigation details Russia’s failures during the ongoing conflict based on interviews with Russian soldiers and Kremlin insiders, obtained documents and intercepts.
The investigation painted a bleak picture of the inner workings of Putin’s failed invasion, from the battlefield through the Russian chain of command to senior leaders.
The latest revelations about deception of conscript soldiers echo previous reports of Russian soldiers being misled about the invasion.
In September, The New York Times published dozens of audio recordings of Russian soldiers in Ukraine complaining that they had been “fooled” and didn’t know they were going to war.
Read the original article on Business Insider
