When Wagner troops headed to Moscow, Ukrainian forces used the alleged attempted coup to their advantage.
With Russian forces distracted and weakened, focused on the very real possibility of a mutiny against the Kremlin in Moscow, Ukrainian troops reported multiple significant gains in the country’s eastern regions.
Since the withdrawal of Wagner troops from Ukraine, and the mercenary group leader’s move to Belarus,
Ukrainian forces have continued to report successes in the Donbas region; specifically, around the city of Bakhmut.
But as Ukrainian forces make these gains, Russian troops are desperately looking for new ways to fight back. Moscow knows that without the support of Wagner troops, regular Russian forces need to step up.
In recent days, Russian troops have reportedly been forced by military leaders to take dramatic action on the battlefield, with some soldiers claiming that they have been told to undertake suicide missions similar to those forced on prison conscripts by Wagner leadership previously.
Video Shows Mobik Describing “Meat Grinder” Attacks
A Russian “mobik” – a term used to describe young or inexperienced conscripts for the Russian 2022 invasion of Ukraine – appeared in a video that is quickly going viral, describing how Russian forces are expected to conduct “suicidal” counterattacks against Ukrainian troops. According to the young soldier, Russian troops are punished if they refuse to follow through.
In the clip, a young man allegedly from the 1428 Regiment makes an appeal for help, claiming that the regiment’s leadership seized their weapons after they were defeated by Ukrainian artillery. The man then claims that soldiers are being forced into undertaking “suicidal” missions against Ukrainian forces and punished for refusing to do so. The man also says that troops like him are forced to become “volunteers” for the Russian military, meaning that they can be sent to fight in battles that will almost certainly end in their death.
“As the regiment commander said, we’ve been attached to a volunteer corps,” the man, reportedly identified as Ivan Gladin from St. Petersburg, said.
“We’d like to immediately announce that we have not signed any contracts saying we’re volunteers. We do not refuse to serve, but will only complete the territorial defense objectives we’ve been prepared for. We do not want to carry out senseless and suicidal orders.”
The soldier described how, a day prior to recording the video, representatives of his regiment told them to “lay down weapons” – an order with which they complied.
“We’ve been waiting for days for the military commandants promised by our regiment, but without waiting for it, today we appealed to the local commandant and military police, asking to evacuate us and start an investigation,” the soldier continued.
“But we’re told they wouldn’t be able to arrest or help us,” he continued, before describing how a “reliable source” said that representatives are approaching troops “under the guise of military commandants” to intimidate and pressure the soldiers.
Russian Telegram accounts also report that young soldiers who were defeated heavily in Kharkiv and Bakhmut, many of whom were from St. Petersburg, are now being used in so-called “meat assaults.”
“They do not have proper training, technical support, too, the organization of events is very poor,” one Telegram account notes. “For example, they suffered the first losses before they even entered the battle,” the account continues, before describing a situation whereby soldiers were transported along a road that was being “shout through.”
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.
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