A Russian soldier who says he was one of the only survivors of an assault on the Ukrainian city of Vovchansk has described how his regiment was ‘minced’ by machine gun fire as they were ordered to advance.
The soldier, who is identified as Anton Andreev from the 5th company of the 1009th regiment of Vladimir Putin’s army of invaders, said in a video that he doubted he would make it out with his life.
‘There are twelve people left out of hundred. We are being fired on by machine guns and drones. We are complete meat. And generals in Moscow – give zero f***s,’ he is reported to have said.
Andreev’s account comes as the British defence ministry said Russia lost around 1,200 troops per day in May – the highest rate recorded since the conflict began – amid a grinding offensive which is seeing troops used as cannon fodder.
The number of casualties overall has surpassed half a million since the Putin‘s forces launched their illegal invasion in February 2022, according to the MoD.
The soldier, who is identified as Anton Andreev from the 5th company of the 1009th regiment of Vladimir Putin’s army of invaders, said in a video that he doubted he would make it out with his life
The site of a Russian air defence system in Belgorod is pictured on fire following what is thought to have been a HIMARS strike
‘The total number of Russian casualties (killed and wounded) since the start of the war in February 2022 has now likely reached 500,000,’ the MoD said in a statement on X.
It added that the ‘elevated casualty rate is highly likely a reflection of Russia’s ongoing attritional offensive which is being conducted across a wide front.
‘It is highly likely that most Russian forces receive only limited training, and they are unable to carry out complex offensive operations.
‘As a result, Russia employs small-scale but costly wave attacks in an effort to weaken Ukrainian defences.’
Lack of training among troops was highlighted by the Russian soldier in the video, who said that new troops coming to the front had only received ‘four to five days of training’.
‘They were sent to assault in the morning; didn’t even make it past two houses. Pinned down by machine guns, they were crowded and were finished by FPV,’ he said. ‘In one group, only one guy was left.
He said the first night his group was ‘rushed’ in, ‘half of the company fell’; ‘Thank God, most were wounded, but plenty of dead as well.’
Labelling the attack a ‘bloodbath’, he said: ‘We only reached the enemy stronghold the next day. Even then, they said to just reach that, and other troops would follow.
In this photo released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Sunday, June 2, 2024, A Russian soldier operates a gun at an undisclosed location in Ukraine
‘They told us to only wear armour and a gun into Volchansk… the first night was alright, we took one street and then this hell let loose.
‘A group comes, it is sent to assault a street. First it seems ok, then you end up under mortar, machine guns, FPV. They take out so many people. But the command yells on the radio to go forward. We’re not allowed to roll back.’
Russia’s tactic of sending wave after wave of underequipped and barely trained men to die on the frontlines has allowed it to make some breakthroughs in recent months.
But its strategy of continually drawing on new recruits is limiting its ability to form higher capability units, an MoD report suggests, meaning the army’s overall effectiveness is limited.
It comes after footage emerged of what is thought to be the first major use of Western-made weapons systems by Ukraine’s armed forces to destroy targets on Russian soil, prompting a top Kremlin official to warn of ‘fatal consequences’.
It is believed the Ukrainian military struck a S-300 or S-400 air defence system using US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and completely destroyed it in a devastating attack on Sunday.
A stunning clip taken by a Russian soldier and shared to the Telegram messaging service showed a huge blaze raging in a field of Belgorod, a Russian region that borders Kharkiv.
The turret of a Russian T-80BV – one of Russia’s top battle tanks – was seen blasted dozens of feet in the air amid a fireball explosion
The attack comes days after US President Joe Biden for the first time gave Kyiv limited permission to deploy American-made weapons on targets inside Russia in a bid to stem Vladimir Putin‘s debilitating strikes on Ukraine’s second city of Kharkiv.
Until now, US weapons were only cleared for use in Ukrainian territory annexed by Russian forces, representing a significant shift in the White House‘s policy toward the conflict.
In recent weeks a number of NATO countries have said they will allow Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia with weapons they have supplied to Kyiv, something that President Vladimir Putin has warned could escalate the war into a global conflict.
Russia says it is open to dialogue on the basis of the ‘new realities’ it has created on the ground, where its forces control about 18% of Ukraine. Kyiv says peace can only be based on a full withdrawal of all Russian forces and the restoration of its territorial integrity.
