WATCH: Russian Soldiers Forced to Live In Ditches Filled With Ice in Ukraine Incredible footage shared on social media this week shows Russian soldiers forced to hide in a trench somewhere in the Luhansk Oblast region that is completely covered with ice.
The video purportedly shows soldiers from the 392nd regiment attempting to crack a layer of thick ice at the bottom of the trench using the handles of their guns.
Some of the soldiers manage to break through the ice, only to find layers of slush and water undeath – making it virtually impossible to use the trench for its intended purpose.
The clip was shared on Twitter by the popular “War Translated” Twitter account, which notes that the soldiers were moved from their positions into the ice pits.
“Russian mobiks from 392nd regiment are asking the media to pay attention to the deplorable state of their positions and lack of supplies, apparently in the Luhansk region. They were moved from prepared positions into ice pits, while the command is blackmailing them,” the post reads.
In the video, a soldier can be heard sarcastically describing how the “fantastic positions” had been prepared for them by their commanders.
You can watch the video here.
“So these are our fantastic positions ‘prepared’ according to the opinion of our command,” a soldier can be heard saying in the clip. “We’re supposed to f*cking live down here!”
Another soldier responds that they would “drown” if they were to use the trenches.
Russia Wasn’t Prepared For Winter in Ukraine
The video is yet more evidence that Russian forces were not prepared to continue fighting through the winter in Ukraine, with Moscow initially expecting that the war would be over in a matter of weeks.
In the clip, soldiers express their anger at their commanding officers and insist that forcing them to operate from frozen trenches undermines the ability of the Russian Armed Forces generally.
Reportedly forced to operate in temperatures as low as -20 degrees Celsius, the soldier says that their command told them that the trenches had already been “prepared” for them, but speculated that few would survive the cold.
“We believe that these actions of our command undermine the combat capability of our army! -20C cold, the guys will simply freeze here and get ill,” the soldier says. “Who is going to be fighting? We won’t even make it to a fight with anyone!”
In November, British intelligence predicted that Russia would face enormous challenges during the winter.
“Winter will bring a change in conflict conditions for both Russian and Ukrainian forces,” an update shared on November 14 by the British Ministry of Defence reads. “Changes to daylight hours, temperature and weather will present unique challenges for fighting soldiers. Any decisions that the Russian General Staff make will be in part informed by the onset of winter.”
Jack Buckby is 19FortyFive’s Breaking News Editor. He is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
