The morale of the Russian soldiers does not seem much higher than that of the Ukrainians: their army is advancing but at the cost of enormous losses. Western intelligence estimates in September were 200,000 Russians dead and around 400,000 wounded. The fault lies in mass infantry assault strategies, without cover or support, and in medical evacuation procedures that are poorly followed at best. It has also been documented that Russian soldiers who participate in these assaults are not allowed to turn back, at the risk of being punished or even executed.
On October 28, sources on Telegram reported that platoons of the Russian 1440th motorized rifle regiment refused to go on the offensive in the Zaporizhia region, which was well held by Ukrainian defenders. These soldiers, whose number is not specified, were reportedly arrested by the military police. “ Moving in this direction is suicide for the Russiansa source told the Kyiv Post. No one is moving forward there right now. »
“Lack of training and motivation”
This is not the first time that Russian soldiers have refused to fight. In August 2023, a British intelligence memo claimed that almost 100 Russian soldiers were being convicted of mutiny every week. “ The refusal to fight likely reflects the lack of training, motivation and high stress situation Russian forces face on the front line », she added.
It also happened that some killed their commander. Numerous videos are also circulating on social networks in which Russian soldiers commit suicide, either because they were left injured or because a Ukrainian kamikaze drone is approaching them. Some also prefer to die rather than be captured by the Ukrainians.
The Russian army is also faced with the problem of conscripts: these young soldiers have received assurances that they will not be deployed in a war zone, despite a dire shortage of soldiers. It was even a promise from Vladimir Putin in March 2022: “ I insist, soldiers performing their military service do not and will not participate in armed actions. »
Since the start of 2022, more than 170 Russian conscripts have died in the war against Ukraine. A survey conducted by Russian Field and reported by The Conversation shows that a third of Russians surveyed would approve of a second wave of mobilization, but that more than 80% of them consider the potential use of conscripts in war unacceptable. The systemization of their deployment on the front would pose a real problem for the Kremlin.
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