40-Man Russian Platoon Flees Ukraine Position, Attempts Escape To Crimea

Russian army morale again appears to be low due to inadequate supplies caused in part by Ukrainian strikes against Russia's already shaky logistics. 

The result has been increasing numbers of Russian soldiers deserting or surrendering. JL  

Sinead Baker reports in Business Insider:

40 Russian soldiers abandoned their positions in Ukraine's southeast and tried to flee to Russian-occupied Crimea. Russia was trying to stop their efforts and they "were being hunted down in an attempt to bring them back." Russian soldiers refusing to fight have increased because of colder conditions that recently set in. Morale within Russia's army is reportedly low, at least in part because its units are seeing big losses and because many soldiers are short on both training and equipment. Another 30 Russian soldiers surrendered in the last four days.

A group of almost 40 Russian soldiers abandoned their positions and tried to flee to Russian-occupied Crimea, a Ukrainian military official said.

Oleksandr Shtupun, the spokesman for a major group of Ukrainian forces, told Ukraine's Espreso TV network that "nearly 40 invaders left their trenches and tried to flee toward Crimea, while remaining armed."

"I'm talking about an entire platoon of the Russian army," Shtupun said, per Ukrinform's reporting.

Shtupun also said there were reports that Russia was trying to stop their efforts and that they "were being hunted down in an attempt to bring them back."

 

It is not clear what ultimately happened to the soldiers.

Shtupun didn't say where the soldiers had been fighting, but the Tavria operational group that he represents fights along much of Ukraine's southeast, including at major frontline hot spots.

He also didn't give specifics on when the incident took place, only saying it happened "recently."

Shtupun said that many Russian soldiers don't want to fight and that the number of them refusing has increased because of colder conditions that have recently set in and because conditions are unsanitary, which can make even a minor injury fatal.

 

He said another 30 Russian soldiers had surrendered in the last four days.

Shtupun's claims cannot be independently verified, but many reports of Russian soldiers fleeing and surrendering have emerged throughout Russia's full-scale invasion, which began in February 2022.

Hundreds of Russian soldiers deserted or refused to fight in the first months of the war, and drone footage has shown Russian soldiers fleeing the battlefield.

Ukraine said earlier this month that more than 220 Russian soldiers had surrendered via the "I Want to Live" hotline and that Russian forces are killing their own injured soldiers with drones to stop them from surrendering.

 

Shtupun said that in an effort to get their soldiers to fight, senior Russian officials have threatened to inflict physical violence and even shoot soldiers.

He said that Russia has threatened soldiers with execution to get them to attack: "This is how they stimulate invaders to execute assault missions. They put pressure on them both mentally and physically."

Western intelligence has previously highlighted Russia's use of more extreme methods to try to stop its soldiers from abandoning the fight, including reportedly deploying special units that threaten to shoot retreating troops.

Morale within Russia's army is reported to be low, at least in part because its units are seeing big losses and because many soldiers are short on both training and equipment.