Mobilized soldiers from Serpukhov say they were thrown into combat ‘like a piece of meat’
Mobilized men from the city of Serpukhov, outside of Moscow, recorded a video in which they say they were sent to the front lines near Makiivka, in the Luhansk region, without preparation or the equipment they needed, and that they were shelled by their own side while they retreated.
They are now located in the village of Baranykivka, in the Luhansk region. They say they have no command, and they don’t know what they’re supposed to do next. The video was published on the Telegram channel VChK-OGPU.
“They brought us to this building here. There’s no electricity, no glass in the windows, we’re cold, we’re hungry, there’s no food. And we’re in the dark again about what’s coming next. Our command has abandoned us. We’re trying to form a company ourselves and command ourselves. They dumped us, they tossed us like a piece of meat for the enemy to tear to shreds,” one soldier says.
The men said they were given “armor used for airsoft games” and helmets which “crack in half after one blow.” They were told to retreat from their positions on foot.
They say that they will remain in Ukraine only on the condition that leadership fulfills its earlier promises, namely, that they can serve as part of a “normal unit” on the third line of defense. Otherwise, say the soldiers, they’ll return to Russia and sort things out “at a higher level.” They add that “no one is refusing to fight.”
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After mobilization began in Russian, there were widespread reports of soldiers being sent to the front without proper training or equipment, as well as of commanders leaving soldiers at the front. In the fall, a grassroots social organization called the Council of Wives and Mothers appeared – it seeks to bring mobilized and contract soldiers home from the front. On November 22, participants in the movement demanded a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.