Avdiivka Slaughter, No Time Off, Lead To Russian Troops' Talk of March On Kremlin

Growing frustration with excessive casualties, a lack of troop rotations and commanding officers' indifference to the conditions in which they are serving has led to increased reports of soldiers' dissatisfaction, a doubling of desertions and even more open talk of mutiny, raising questions about the state of Russian forces in Ukraine. JL 

Jon Jackson reports in Newsweek:

The growing frustration among Russia's ranks makes a suggestion about leading a march against the Kremlin. "Soon, we'll gather a crowd and head towards Russia." Only contract soldiers—troops hired by a private military company—have been granted time off while formal military servicemen have not. At a hospital (in Ukraine's northeast), a wounded figther said there were "more than 500 people here" before adding that "many more will come."

Ukrainian military intelligence recently published audio of what it said was an intercepted phone call in which two Russian soldiers express their frustrations by suggesting they lead a mutiny against the Kremlin, though it is not clear how serious the two men are about the concept.

The audio was originally posted by Ukraine's military intelligence directorate (GUR) on its Telegram channel on December 8, but the Kyiv Post translated the conversation for a Thursday story.

Newsweek could not independently verify the authenticity of the call, and the Russian Ministry of Defense was emailed on Thursday night for comment. GUR frequently posts audio of what it says are intercepted communications involving Russian troops. The calls typically serve as examples of low morale among Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces in Ukraine. In October, GUR shared a clip of a Russian soldier reportedly talking about being too weak from lack of food to wear his bulletproof vest.The Kyiv Post wrote that the GUR's posted audio was a call between a Russian soldier stationed on the front lines and another fighter who was undergoing treatment in a military hospital.

During the call, the soldier still on the front lines told his friend that he hasn't "been on vacation for years," prompting the wounded fighter to ask when he'd be going home.

"I wish I knew," the first soldier answered, according to the Kyiv Post's translation.

When the first soldier asked how many other troops are being treated at the hospital, the wounded figther said there were "more than 500 people" before adding that "many more will come."

Describing the combat landscape, the soldier still stationed on the front lines said "everything is the same as it used to be," adding that he would soon be moving to Synkivka, a village about six miles northeast of Kupyansk in the Kharkiv Oblast.

"They're making it difficult for us, squeezing our rights everywhere," the wounded man said, per the Kyiv Post. "The second year has passed, darn it! If I hadn't been injured, I would have . The soldier on the front lines then complains about how contract soldiers—troops hired by a private military company—have been granted time off while formal military servicemen have not.

"We only have contract soldiers who go on vacation," he said.

 

The soldier on the battlefield continues, talking about the growing frustration among Russia's ranks and makes a suggestion about leading a march against the Kremlin.

 

"Soon, we'll gather a crowd and head towards Russia," the frontline soldier said.

"That's it! I think so too," the wounded fighter replied. "At some point, you'll become so fed up that you'll grab the MT-LB [armored vehicle] and get out of there."